US coalition calls for immediate release of American teenager detained by Israel

A US-wide coalition is calling for the immediate release of a Palestinian-American teenager being held in Israeli military detention since February of this year. 

The coalition, comprising a diverse range of activists, distributed on Saturday more than 2,000 flyers at the "No King" protests across six US states, urging people to contact their representatives and demand the release of Mohammed Ibrahim, 16, from Tampa, Florida.

The group has been raising awareness about Mohammed's incarceration and lobbying their congressional representatives. In August, the group sent a letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio to secure his release.

In the middle of the night in February, the Israeli military forcibly took Mohammed, who was 15 at the time, from his family home in the occupied West Bank, and accused him of throwing rocks at a car - a charge he has denied. He is being held without trial at the notorious Ofer military prison. 

Israeli prison authorities have given him such little food while in detention that he has lost approximately one quarter of his body weight and has only been allowed outside for ten minutes a day.

The coalition said in a statement they sent to the Middle East Eye, “We have recently passed the 8-month mark since his kidnapping from his home in the middle of the night by IDF soldiers. Scabies cover his entire body and is being used as an excuse to not allow visitors. His father is still stuck in the West Bank while his son's health deteriorates."

Many expected that Mohammed would be released along with other Palestinians who had been detained by Israel, as part of the Gaza ceasefire deal signed earlier this month. 

“As the school season in the US begins again, we are acutely aware that the year has started without Mohammed. A child who should be getting his driver's permit and license is sitting in Ofer with his life in constant danger. The return of Palestinian hostages from Israel make the reality that this young boy faces even more stark, and it only elevates our urgency to bring him home. Mohammed's cousin [Saif Musallet] was brutally murdered by Israeli settlers, and the family should not have to beg the US government to protect them from having to bury another son.”

Inertia at local level

The coalition said that despite pleas from both Florida residents and organisers, both local governments in Mohammed's and Musallet's hometowns had refused to officially demand Mohammed's release or justice for Musallet. They said Mohammed's own state representatives have ceased to be in communication with his family and “refuse to put out a statement on the torture of one of their own constituents”.

They also said that people who recently returned from the Global Sumud Flotilla to Gaza had joined the coalition, including the veterans' contingent, and have been in DC meeting with politicians to try and secure Mohammed's release.

The coalition noted that politicians outside of Florida have made statements calling for his return.

Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley is the latest person to issue a statement. On Sunday, on a post on X, she called for his release, saying: “His health is deteriorating. The circumstances are desperate. The United States must use every avenue available to secure the release of this Palestinian American child”.

“We as a coalition are calling on every single US American to pressure your congresspeople and Mohammed's representatives,” the coalition added.

“We are running out of time. A boy only a year older than Mohammed has died in this prison before. We know that abuse of children in Israeli prisons has soared. We all must be constantly demanding that our representatives fulfill their duty to protect US citizens, and we must be ready to pressure our government to act using every avenue we can.”

Mohammed’s father, Zaher, told MEE in a phone call from the occupied West Bank, “It’s been eight months and we haven’t heard Mohammed’s voice or seen him. He’s missed a year of school.

“Marco Rubio assigned Mark Romano to Mohammed’s case. We text Mark every day, and we’re not getting anything. It’s been a month, and Marc still says they’re still waiting on a response from the Israeli government. We haven’t got answers yet.

“We were surprised he wasn’t on the list when Israel released almost 2,000 people," Zaher said.

The family has a court date set for 29 October and said they are hoping the US government will help have him released by then.

The US State Department did not respond to a request for comment at the time of publication and sent out an automated response saying that “responses may be delayed due to the government shutdown”.