Calls grow to release US teen Mohammed Ibrahim detained by Israel

Washington, DC – Mohammed Ibrahim is just a normal kid who loves his family and likes photography, his relatives say.

But the Palestinian American teenager spent his 16th birthday this past March in an Israeli jail, despite protests pleading for his release.

His father, Zaher Ibrahim, believes the United States government can free Mohammed and end his ordeal with a single phone call, given the billions of dollars in military aid it sends Israel each year.

“But we’re nothing to them,” Zaher told Al Jazeera on Wednesday.

Zaher and other family members said that, while imprisoned, Mohammed has been losing weight and suffering from a skin infection. While US officials have visited the teenager, Israeli authorities have otherwise denied him contact with the outside world.

The teenager’s family — based in Florida and the West Bank — warned that his life may be at risk, and they are calling on the US to secure his release.

The case has been gaining attention in recent weeks, with Congress members and rights groups urging Trump to push for Mohammed’s freedom.

‘An American child’

On Tuesday, more than 100 advocacy groups — including the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), IfNotNow, A New Policy and Pax Christi USA — sent a letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio calling for Mohammed’s release.

“For 6 months, the Israeli military has unjustly imprisoned Mohammed, a child, without a trial, forcing his parents to live a non-stop nightmare. Israel has not allowed Mohammed’s parents to contact him since he was taken,” the letter said.

“Mohammed is an American child with a community in Florida who cares about him deeply. It is the responsibility of the US government to protect all American children, including Palestinian-Americans.”

Israeli soldiers raided Mohammed’s family home in the West Bank in February. According to relatives, Mohammed was visiting from Florida for vacation, but the troops blindfolded him and arrested him.

He was later charged with throwing stones at Israeli settlers, an accusation that he denies.

Since his arrest, his relatives say he has lost nearly a quarter of his body weight. He has also contracted scabies, a skin infection that causes extreme itching and rashes across the body. US officials, they say, offer them updates about his condition.

“It’s hard,” Ibrahim told Al Jazeera. “When you sit to have your meal, you think: Did he get his meal today?”

Even Mohammed’s local representative in the US has gotten involved in the push for his freedom. On Tuesday, Congresswoman Kathy Castor, who represents the Florida district that includes the city of Tampa, called for his safe release.

“I urge the Trump Administration to do everything in its power to obtain the release of Mohammed Ibrahim — a child, an American citizen and a Floridian,” Castor said in a statement, without mentioning Israel.

Mohammed is the cousin of 20-year-old Sayfollah Musallet, an American citizen who was beaten to death by Israeli settlers in July.

Zaher told Al Jazeera that two Democratic senators, Chris Van Hollen and Jeff Merkley, met with Mohammed and Sayfollah’s families on Tuesday.

Khamis Ayyad, a US citizen and father of five, was also killed in a settler attack in the West Bank in July.

Since 2022, Israeli soldiers and settlers have killed at least 10 US citizens. None of the cases have resulted in criminal charges.

‘Where is our protection?’

Mohammed’s relatives have expressed dismay at the US government’s seeming unwillingness to protect its citizens from Israel.

Zeyad Kadur, Mohammed’s uncle, drew a contrast between the teenager’s ongoing detention and the case of Israeli official Tom Artiom Alexandrovich, who was released on bond in the US and allowed to leave the country despite facing serious child sex crimes.

“Mohammed is accused of allegedly throwing a rock; an Israeli was arrested on paedophile charges in Las Vegas, and he flew back to Israel,” Kadur told Al Jazeera.

“Why does that double standard need to be there, even when a child is involved?”

The US Department of State has declined to comment in detail on Mohammed’s case, citing privacy concerns.

On Wednesday, as Rubio met with his counterpart Gideon Saar in Washington, DC, a journalist asked him about Mohammed’s case. The top US diplomat did not answer.

For her part, Leali Shalabi, Mohammed’s cousin, said the US government’s unconditional support for Israel at the expense of its own citizens should be a “wake-up call” for Americans across the country.

She also questioned Trump’s “America First” motto, saying that his backing of Israel undermines US interests.

“When it’s people who look like us, we’re not being put first,” Shalabi told Al Jazeera.

As Israel carries out a military assault in Gaza that leading rights groups have described as a genocide, its troops have also been stepping up their attacks in the West Bank. Settler violence has also been on the rise in the territory.

The cases of Mohammed and his cousin Sayfollah show that US citizens are not spared, their families say.

“We hold this passport. We pay our taxes. But where is our protection?” Shalabi said.