This was how Hamoodi’s story was told when he was on the jury:

Hamoodi grew up in a poor village south of Hebron on the West Bank, an area that is occupied by Israel.

“One night, Israeli soldiers came to our village in tanks. They gave orders through a loudspeaker, telling everyone to switch their lights on. They shot in all directions, and three people were killed.”

When he was five years old and heard that a little boy had been killed, Hamoodi said, “I want a gun!” But now he takes part in dialogue for peace. He has Jewish friends, and plays football with them several times a month in Israel, when it is possible.

“I like playing football, but we don’t have a pitch in our village. We usually play on a field further away, but when the Israeli soldiers come to arrest someone, they drive us away. They take away all the fun things,” says Hamoodi.