A whole day had passed since the three prisoners had entered.
The raids had stopped, and the tunnel had returned to its familiar silence.
But the atmosphere was more tense than ever.
Daniel sat in his corner, watching silently.
Yusuf stood in front of Khaled, his voice rising in angry Arabic, so that the tunnel echoed with his words:
"Traitor! How dare you look us in the eye after what you've done? If it weren't for God's mercy, you'd be in Tel Aviv right now, a dog to your masters!"
Khalid trembled where he stood, his head bowed, his eyes fixed on the ground.
Yusuf raised his hand as if to strike him, but his fist froze in the air. Then he turned his back violently and spat out his final words:
"The stench of your betrayal is enough to rot the air."
He then sat down in a distant corner, trying to catch his breath.
The whole scene was shocking to Daniel.
He stared at Khaled with growing astonishment.
A Palestinian... a prisoner like us? How could that be?
He waited until silence fell again, then approached him, his voice hesitant:
"You... you're Palestinian?"Khalid slowly raised his eyes, his gaze a mixture of shame and bitterness.
"Yes, I am."
Daniel's heart began to beat faster.
"But... why are you here? With us? Aren't you... our enemy's enemy?"
Khaled laughed bitterly:
"Enemy of our enemy? I wish it were that simple."
He leaned closer, his voice low as if confessing a sin:
"I was a university student in Ramallah. I met a girl... she was my whole life. I didn't know she was a trap. Pictures... threats... then the lure of a house and a life of luxury. They knew how to prey on my weaknesses. I fell. I became their agent."
He bowed his head and whispered:
"I thought I could survive. But I lost everything... my family, my homeland, my dignity."
Daniel was captivated by the story and didn't know what to say.
But he felt that what he was hearing was not just a personal confession, but a complete tragedy that summed up the meaning of betrayal.
Suddenly, Yusuf interrupted harshly from his corner:
"Don't try to justify yourself. You didn't just bring yourself down... you tried to bring us all down.
Your mother, who reported you, is more honourable than you."
Khalid fell silent, his face growing paler, unable to find a response.
As for Daniel, he kept staring at him, his curiosity and confusion growing.
How could a man betray his people like that? What makes a person sell their homeland for a
house? And am I... somewhere... not like him too?