Palestinian-US teen released after nine months in Israeli jail

A Palestinian-American teenager Mohammed Zaher Ibrahim has been released nine months after Israeli forces detained him during a nighttime raid in the occupied West Bank.

Sixteen-year-old Ibrahim, who lives in Florida, was visiting family for a holiday when he was arrested on February 16 after Israeli forces reportedly entered his relatives’ home in al-Mazra’a ash-Sharqiya. He was accused of throwing stones at Israeli settlers, an allegation he denied.

According to media reports, he was subjected to beatings, starvation and other mistreatment while held at Ofer Prison. Upon his release, he was taken immediately to hospital, where family members described him as pale, underweight and suffering from conditions believed to have developed during his detention.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) welcomed his release but urged the United States to address what they described as the mistreatment of an American minor

“Ibrahim should have spent this year studying for his learner’s permit and enjoying time with his family — not locked in a military prison, beaten, starved and terrified,” CAIR Florida wrote on X. “His release is cause for celebration, but it must also be a turning point. The US cannot continue providing unchecked support to a government that tortures American children.”

CAIR National added that his return “does not erase the torture and suffering he endured”, calling on Washington to investigate Israel’s treatment of a US citizen and ensure no other child, Palestinian or American, faces similar conditions.

According to the Israeli Prison Service, around 360 Palestinian children are currently held as security detainees — the highest figure recorded since early 2016.

Of these, 147 minors, or 41 percent, are held in administrative detention without charge or trial, the highest number documented since Defence for Children International – Palestine began tracking such cases in 2008.