US Lawmakers Demand Trump Administration Secure Release of Palestinian American Teen Held in Israel

A growing chorus of US lawmakers is demanding action from the Trump administration over the case of 16-year-old Mohammed Ibrahim, a Palestinian American detained in Israel for eight months without trial. In a letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio and US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, 27 members of Congress, including Bernie Sanders and Chris Van Hollen, called for his immediate release and accused Washington of double standards when it comes to protecting its own citizens.

“As we have been told repeatedly, ‘the Department of State has no higher priority than the safety and security of US citizens abroad,’” the lawmakers wrote. “We share that view and urge you to fulfil this responsibility by engaging the Israeli government directly to secure the swift release of this American boy.”

Mohammed’s family has been left in anguish as reports from embassy staff and former detainees describe “alarming weight loss, deteriorating health, and signs of torture.” His court hearings have been repeatedly postponed, leaving him in legal limbo, a scenario depressingly familiar to many Palestinian detainees in Israel’s system.

Rights advocates say the case exposes a broader hypocrisy in US foreign policy. Yousef Munayyer, head of the Palestine/Israel program at the Arab Center Washington DC, told Al Jazeera, “The contrast has been made clear: The US government simply does not care about Palestinians with US citizenship who are killed or unjustly detained by Israel.”

During Mohammed’s detention, his cousin Sayfollah Musallet, 20, was beaten to death by Israeli settlers in the West Bank, a case that drew condemnation from Ambassador Huckabee but, unsurprisingly, led to no arrests.

Human rights groups say Mohammed’s story is far from exceptional. According to Defense for Children International: Palestine (DCIP), roughly three out of four Palestinian minors detained by Israel report being physically assaulted after arrest, and nearly 86 percent say they were never told why they were detained.

Israeli authorities claim Mohammed, who was 15 at the time, threw stones at settlers, an allegation often leveled at Palestinian children and rarely supported by public evidence. He denies the charge.