RAMALLAH, OCCUPIED WEST BANK—After nine months of detention that became a lightning rod for criticism of Israel’s military justice system, Palestinian-American teenager Mohammed Ibrahim was released from an Israeli prison on Thursday, finally returning to his family just in time for the Thanksgiving holiday in the United States.
The 16-year-old from Florida, who was arrested in a nighttime raid on his family’s West Bank home in February, walked free following a sustained pressure campaign by U.S. lawmakers and human rights organizations who argued his prolonged detention and alleged mistreatment violated his rights as an American citizen.
The Nine-Month Ordeal
Mohammed Ibrahim was just 15 when he was taken by Israeli forces from the village of al-Mazraa ash-Sharqiya near Ramallah. The Israeli military charged him with two counts of throwing objects at moving vehicles—a charge he denied—and detained him without a consistent right to family visitation.
- Deteriorating Health: Throughout his detention, reports from his family and U.S. officials indicated a severe decline in his physical health. Relatives said the teen was severely underweight, having lost a quarter of his body weight, and was suffering from a debilitating case of scabies contracted in the prison.
- Allegations of Abuse: Family and civil rights groups, including the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), alleged that Ibrahim was subjected to abuse, including beatings, being starved, and being denied adequate medical care.
- Diplomatic Pressure: His case drew the attention of Washington, D.C., where a bipartisan coalition of over 100 human rights organizations and, separately, 27 Democratic members of Congress—including Senators Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren—wrote to the Secretary of State demanding the administration intervene to secure the Florida-born teenager’s release.
“Words can’t describe the immense relief we have as a family right now, to have Mohammed in his parents’ arms,” said Zeyad Kadur, Mohammed’s uncle, in a statement released upon his release. He noted the family’s immediate focus is securing medical care after “Israel’s abuse and inhumane conditions for months.”
The Broader Context of Abuse Claims
While his release is a personal victory for the Ibrahim family, advocates quickly pointed to the hundreds of other Palestinian children currently held in Israeli military detention, which remains the world’s only legal system that systematically prosecutes minors.
“Mohammed’s homecoming is a blessing, but it does not erase the torture and suffering he endured,” stated a CAIR official, urging the U.S. government to formally investigate the documented abuse of an American child.
The teenager’s case gained further prominence after his cousin, Sayfollah Musallet, a 20-year-old American-Palestinian, was allegedly beaten to death by Israeli settlers in the West Bank in July, tragically underscoring the dangers faced by dual citizens in the occupied territories.
Following his release, Ibrahim was immediately taken to a hospital for intravenous therapy and blood work. His family says their first order of business is celebrating his 16th birthday, which he was forced to spend unjustly imprisoned and separated from his loved ones.