The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) called on the Trump administration Wednesday to force the Israeli government to free Mohammed Ibrahim, a 16-year-old dual Palestinian-American citizen from Brevard County, who has been held in an Israeli prison for more than eight months.
Ibrahim was arrested in February from his family’s home in the West Bank over allegations of rock throwing.
During a press conference in Tampa in August, an attorney for his family said that Ibrahim was being held in Israel’s Megiddo Prison, where they said he had contracted scabies but been denied medical treatment. Family members said he had lost more than 25 pounds since his detention began 10 months ago.
Tampa Bay-area Democratic U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor released a statement that same day as that press conference, urging the Trump administration “to do everything in its power” to obtain the release of Ibrahim. Massachusetts Democratic U.S. Rep. Ayanna Pressley said on X Sunday that the U.S. “must use every avenue available to secure the release of this Palestinian-American child.”
Ibrahim’s family lives in Palm Bay in Brevard County, where they are represented in Congress by Republican Mike Haridopolos. A spokesperson told the Phoenix in August that his office had been in contact with the Ibrahim family.
The Guardian reported last month that the U.S. State Department had appointed a dedicated official to handle Ibrahim’s case.
Following the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas earlier this month, the Israeli government released nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners. Ibrahim’s uncle, Zeyad Kadur, told WBUR radio in Boston last week that the family has hoped that Ibrahim would be part of that deal, “but it didn’t happen.”
Florida Phoenix is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Contact Michael Moline for questions: info@floridaphoenix.com. Follow Florida Phoenix on Facebook and Twitter.
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