The story of Mohammed Ibrahim, 16-yr-old released after 9 months in Israeli prison

Mohammed Ibrahim turned 16 this year. He was in an Israeli prison then. The Palestinian-American teenager was released on Thursday (November 27) after spending nine months behind bars.     

The teen from Florida was allegedly blindfolded and handcuffed in the middle of the night in February when Israeli forces raided his family home in the West Bank. He was visiting from Florida for a holiday and was arrested for allegedly throwing stones at Jewish settlers.  

He was reportedly held without charge in Ofer prison, a home to adult prisoners, some of whom have been convicted of serious terrorism offences and murder. 

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Last month, 27 US lawmakers, including senators Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren and Chris Van Hollen, who wrote to Secretary of State Marco Rubio, urged the administration to push Israel to free him. They expressed “grave concern” over the boy’s treatment.   

So, what do we know about this 16-year-old, his arrest and the treatment in Israeli custody.   

The arrest of Mohammed Ibrahim 

Ibrahim was 15 when he was arrested from his house in the town of al-Mazraa ash-Sharqiya, near Ramallah, for allegedly throwing stones at Jewish settlers, which he previously denied.

He was blindfolded and handcuffed in the nighttime. According to the court documents reviewed by The Guardian, Ibrahim was charged with counts of throwing objects at moving vehicles.

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The case came to light after a 20-year-old American-Palestinian, Sayfollah Musallet, was allegedly beaten to death by Israeli settlers in mid-July. The Guardian learned, while reporting Musallet’s story, that his younger cousin, Ibrahim, was arrested in February.   

US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee called Musallet’s brutal killing a “criminal and terrorist act”, demanding that Israel “aggressively probe the murder.” However, no arrest has been made yet.

Both Ibrahim and Musallet worked together in the family ice cream shop in Tampa, Florida.

During the time in prison, Israeli authorities did not allow Ibrahim to contact his family. He did not have any visitation rights. Only US officials had access to him, and his relatives received all updates through them.     

On Thursday, following a guilty plea and suspended sentence, the teenager was released, according to his family. 

Earlier this week, Ibrahim’s father, Zahar Ibrahim, who runs the ice-cream business in Florida, said his son only confessed to throwing stones because the soldiers beat him, reports the BBC.

The life in prison   

In an October interview with the Defense for Children International-Palestine (DCIP), the non-profit that promotes children’s rights, Ibrahim shared his ordeal about the mistreatment of minors in Israeli jails. He spoke about the alleged harsh treatments, including thin mattresses, cold cells and meagre meals.

“The meals we receive are extremely insufficient,” Ibrahim was quoted as saying. 

Further adding, “For breakfast, we are served just three tiny pieces of bread, along with a mere spoonful of labneh. At lunch, our portion is minimal, consisting of only half a small cup of undercooked, dry rice, a single sausage, and three small pieces of bread. Dinner is not provided, and we receive no fruit whatsoever.” 

The boy told DCIP how Israeli soldiers beat him with the butts of rifles while transporting him. 

The non-profit said after obtaining the testimony from another Palestinian-US teen in prison that Ibrahim has lost a “considerable amount of weight” since his detention began.  
In jail, Ibrahim also contracted a skin infection.     

Since then, his family, right groups and US lawmakers have been pleading with the Trump administration for his immediate release.
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Representative Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts wrote on X on October 19. “His [Ibrahim’s] health is deteriorating. The circumstances are desperate. The United States must use every avenue available to secure the release of this Palestinian American child.”

Immense relief, says Ibrahim’s family 

The boy’s uncle, Zeyad Kadur, said the family was relieved now that Irbahim has been released.   

“He is finally home. Words can’t describe the immense relief we have as a family right now, to have Mohammed in his parents’ arms,” his uncle said in a statement. “We couldn’t believe Mohammed was free until his parents wrapped their arms around him and felt him safe.” 

“The family have been living a horrific and endless nightmare” over the last nine months. Israeli soldiers had no right to take Mohammed from us in the first place,” Kadur added. 

Ibrahim’s uncle said that immediately after his release, the teen was taken to a hospital for intravenous therapy and blood work, noting that he is severely “underweight, pale and is still suffering from scabies contracted during captivity”. 

Kadur said after Ibrahim’s release, the family would continue to fight for justice for his cousin Sayfollah Musallet, who was beaten to death by Israeli settlers during a confrontation in July.   

Palestinian children ‘targeted’ by Israel   

According to a 2013 United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) report, Israel is the only country that systematically prosecutes children in military courts. 

Israeli military court previously considered Palestinian children to be minors only up to 15 years, the report notes. However, on 27 September 2011, the Israeli military commander in the occupied West Bank issued the military order 1676, which raised the age of majority in the military courts from 16 to 18 years, as cited in the report.  

According to the Israeli human rights organisation, B’Tselem, between 2005 and 2010, 835 Palestinian minors aged 12 to 17 were tried on stone-throwing charges in military court, and only one was acquitted. 

According to the latest data from DCIP, as of September, 350 Palestinian children between the ages of 12 and 17 were being held in Israeli military detention.

Israel has not commented on the release of Ibrahim.

With inputs from agencies