Jailed Palestinian child returns to family

The 16-year-old Palestinian teen, Fawzi al-Juneidi, who was recently arrested by Israeli soldiers, returned to his family late Wednesday.

Al-Juneidi was arrested Dec. 7, in the West Bank city of Hebron (Al-Khalil) after being dragged on the ground and blindfolded by heavily-armed Israeli soldiers.

A photo of the blindfolded youth quickly became a symbol of ongoing Palestinian protests sparked by U.S. President Donald Trump's decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital.

The young Palestinian told Anadolu Agency that he was badly treated and was exposed to violence by Israeli soldiers.

"I was very afraid as they hit me on the head," he told, describing his painful and bloodstained body.

Blindfolded by the soldiers, the boy was taken to a prison "where I do not know," he said.

As he was questioned, Al-Juneidi was battered and also tortured with cold water.

His lawyer Maamoun al-Hashim, quoting the teen, said he was assaulted by a dozen soldiers, who kept hitting and insulting him while laying on the ground, according to a statement by the Palestinian Prisoners Society on Saturday.

“I was tied up by plastic bandages and dragged away blindfolded,” the statement quoted the child as saying.

He said he was kept inside a dark room, where he was beaten. “I felt I was going to fall unconscious as a result of torture,” the child was quoted as saying.

The Palestinian lawyer also said Al-Juneidi was interrogated while handcuffed.

Reaching his family after days of detention, the boy expressed his gratitude to all who supported him and Palestine, including the Turkish nation and its President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

An Israeli military court on Wednesday decided to release Al-Juneidi on bail, according to a legal source.

The court set Al-Juneidi’s bail at 10,000 Israeli shekels (roughly $2,860) after prosecutors withdrew an appeal against the teenager’s release, lawyer Arwa Hilehel told Anadolu Agency.

He will appear before the military court again on Jan. 14.