18 hours of hell: testimony from one of the 1,500 Palestinians detained in Tulkarm

The Israeli army detained 1,500 Palestinian men in Tulkarm, West Bank, one of the largest mass arrest campaigns in its modern history. Photo by author.

In the aftermath of an operation targeting a military vehicle inside the “Tsan’aoz” camp west of Tulkarm, the city witnessed one of the largest mass arrest campaigns in its modern history.

Last week, the Israeli military detained more than 1,500 young men from various neighborhoods and refugee camps. The purpose of the operation was to humiliate Palestinian men and exert psychological pressure on the city’s residents without any regard with international law or human rights. This act of collective punishment has left a deep mark on the city and its people.

The following is a first-person account from a resident of Tulkarm who was among dozens of young men detained in a single sweep. For security reasons, the person’s name and identifying details are being withheld:

“It happened on Thursday afternoon, September 11, 2025. News began circulating about Israeli soldiers being injured after a vehicle exploded inside the Tsan’aoz military camp west of Tulkarm. We read the news and said, ‘God help us, what’s going to happen next?’

Around 5 p.m. that same day, I was coming back from work when suddenly the army entered the city and spread out across the streets. They started calling out to the young men in the area: ‘Close your shops!’ There was no room for refusal or discussion. The guys shut down their stores, and they started taking us one by one. I was on the same street, so they took me too. They made us walk in a military-style line, one behind the other, just like the photos you’ve all seen on social media. We were being filmed the entire way by soldiers and the press. We were terrified and had no idea what was happening.

There were about 88 of us, all scared and confused. We walked through Haddadin Street in Tulkarm, then headed toward Al-Alimi roundabout. After that, they took us to a camp called Tsan’aoz, located west of the city. They sat us down in the yard. The road from downtown to the camp was long, and the soldiers kept yelling at us to walk faster. No talking. No turning around. 

When we arrived, they divided us into groups. Each group was taken into an interrogation room. The questioning was intense. They asked each of us: ‘Do you know what happened in Tulkarm? Do you know there was an operation? Do you know there were injuries? Who do you think carried it out?’ They asked me about people I didn’t know and activities I had nothing to do with. I had no answers. I work as a mechanic in a car repair shop. I go from home to work and back. I barely manage to feed my kids.

Palestinian detainees marched through Tulkarm, West Bank. Photo by author.

We stayed there for about 18 hours, not knowing what would happen to us. No contact with our families or anyone. We were exhausted, sitting on the ground, packed together. No food. No water. We were drained. Then suddenly, they started calling out: ‘Come on, all of you, out!’ We were released, and we couldn’t believe it. 

But the situation in Tulkarm was unstable, completely chaotic. They had taken nearly all the young men in the city. Those who hadn’t been taken were just waiting their turn.

What happened to us was not normal. The world needs to know. We are not numbers, we are human beings. What happened was collective humiliation. There must be a voice to speak for us and what we went through. Because this wasn’t just an arrest. it was an attempt to break us. But we weren’t broken.”

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