A Palestinian-American teenager is expected to appear in court in Israel later this week after nine months of detention without being charged.
Mohammed Ibrahim, who is 16 and lives in Florida, was arrested in February while on holiday in the Israeli-occupied West Bank for allegedly throwing stones at Jewish settlers, something he denies.
Last month, 27 Democratic US Senators and House members sent a letter to the US State Department, urging the Trump administration to do more to pressure Israel to release him.
In a statement, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said Mohammed had committed a serious potentially deadly crime and that the court was proceeding under due process.
The teenager's family disagrees. You can ask anybody you know, he's a real sweet boy, into his sports, PlayStation, and school, his father, Zahar Ibrahim, shared tearfully.
Mohammed was arrested in a raid on his family's holiday home in the Palestinian village of al-Mazraa al-Sharqiya in the middle of the night by Israeli soldiers. His father has not seen or spoken to him since February.
He's just a regular fun kid that loves and respects anybody, Mr. Ibrahim expressed. Hearing accounts through court documents, he claims his son was coerced into confessing to throwing stones due to beatings by the soldiers.
According to the account, Mohammed was blindfolded and restrained upon arrest. They tied him up and blindfolded him, and they threw him on the floor of the jeep, Zahar conveyed.
The US embassy has assigned a case worker who reported that Mohammed had significantly lost weight and was not doing well.
In a message directed to President Trump, Zahar urged, As a president, his [Trump's] duty is to protect Americans, and we're not seeing that for Mohammed. What’s lucky about an American passport? It’s not helping.
Senator Chris van Hollen emphasized that the U.S. government has influence in this case and criticized the apparent lack of action taken regarding Mohammed’s mistreatment.
Currently, Mohammed is being held at Ofer prison, which also encompasses adult detainees convicted of serious offences. His story has drawn attention, yet hundreds of other Palestinian children remain in similar legal predicaments, often without any charges, raising grave concerns from human rights advocates.
