Mohammed Ibrahim (Image: X/@BlueCrewViking)
A 16-year-old Palestinian-American teenager, Mohammed Ibrahim, who spent nine months in Israeli detention has been released. Ibrahim was 15 when he was arrested in February during a family visit to the West Bank from Florida. Israeli authorities had accused him of throwing stones at Jewish settlers, an allegation he later said he only admitted to after being beaten and threatened by interrogators.The teen was taken immediately to a hospital after his release on Thursday evening. His family said that Ibrahim is pale, underweight and suffering from health issues he contracted in prison, according to the BBC.Video showed the teenager, still in a grey prison jumpsuit, wiping away tears as his father embraced him. His uncle, Zeyad Kadur, said that the family had been living a “horrific and endless nightmare” for months.“We just want Mohammed to be healthy and to have his childhood back,” he said. Kadur further added that Israeli soldiers “had no right to take Mohammed from us in the first place”.Mohammed was held at Megiddo and Ofer prisons in the West Bank, facilities that also hold adults convicted of serious offences.In an affidavit, he told his lawyer that he was assaulted during his arrest and that prisoners were often forced to sleep on mattresses on the floor. The family said he had lost around 25 pounds and suffered from scabies due to poor living conditions and lack of food, according to The Times of Israel. The US State Department welcomed Mohammed’s release and said it would continue to support his family. It added that “the safety and security of US citizens” remains its highest priority. Earlier this week, Mohammed’s father from Tampa, Florida, had expressed frustration that the US government was not doing enough. More than 100 faith-based and human rights organisations, as well as 24 US lawmakers had urged Washington to intervene.According to the Israeli Prison Service, about 350 Palestinian children are currently being held in Israeli jails. Human rights organisations and the United Nations have repeatedly raised concerns about the alleged abuse and torture of minors in detention.Mohammed’s family said they will now seek justice for his cousin, 20-year-old US citizen Sayfollah Musallet. The Palestinian health ministry said Musallet was beaten to death by Israeli settlers in July.No arrests have been made in that incident, which took place amid a wider surge in settler violence in the West Bank following the Gaza war that began in October 2023.“We expect the American government to protect our families,” Mohammed’s uncle said.
