The Israeli prison released 16-year-old Palestinian American Mohammed Ibrahim from Florida after his family, rights organizations, and US politicians worked together for nine months to secure his freedom, according to Al Jazeera. The Israeli military arrested Mohammed Ibrahim in February 2025 after they stormed his family’s residence near Ramallah to charge him with stone-throwing against Israeli settlers, although he maintained his innocence.
Night Raid, Arrest, and Detention Conditions
The Israeli military took Ibrahim into custody on February 16 after they stormed his family’s residence in al-Mazra’a ash-Sharqiya, which lies in the occupied West Bank north of Ramallah. The soldiers at the raid blindfolded Ibrahim while they beat him before transporting him to an unspecified location, where he spent his 16th birthday in detention and lost weight and developed skin problems.
The authorities denied Ibrahim any contact with his family for multiple months while his parents received updates through US officials and legal documents, according to Al Jazeera and the BBC. The family obtained an interrogation video from Ibrahim, which he used to deny all accusations about rock throwing near his village, according to Al Jazeera.
Family Relief and Advocacy Effort
The family of Mohammed Ibrahim received news of his return home through a statement published by Al Jazeera. The family members experience overwhelming joy because Mohammed now resides with his parents in their Florida home. The nine months of imprisonment created an endless, terrifying experience for Mohammed’s parents, according to Zeyad Kadur. Family members asked the President Donald Trump administration to help Mohammed by providing him with proper nutrition and medical care and, eventually, releasing him from detention, according to Al Jazeera. The family members expressed their gratitude to all supporters who helped their case before announcing plans to celebrate Mohammed’s 16th birthday with his favorite meal at their Florida home.
US Lawmakers and Rights Groups Apply Pressure
The situation regarding Ibrahim’s freedom became more critical because multiple reports showed his health condition worsening. The Trump administration received a letter from 27 US lawmakers who demanded more action to free Ibrahim because his detention without family contact created dangerous health risks. Multiple US lawmakers, including Senator Chris Van Hollen, demanded that Israeli authorities and the Trump administration take immediate action for Ibrahim’s release. At the same time, Van Hollen used this case to demonstrate Israeli mistreatment of Palestinian children in detention.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), together with other rights organizations, worked to free Ibrahim because they saw his situation as evidence of systematic Palestinian child abuse in Israeli detention centers. TRT World reported that CAIR supported Ibrahim’s release while continuing to demand that Washington use its influence to defend American citizens and ensure Palestinian detainees receive proper treatment.
A Wider Pattern of Palestinian Child Detention
Advocates have framed Ibrahim’s case within the larger context of Israel’s detention of Palestinian minors. According to the Israeli Prison Service data cited by Defence for Children International – Palestine and the United Nations, Israel is currently holding around 350 Palestinian children in detention, many without formal charges or trial. A New Arab report and UN-linked briefings say more than 1,630 Palestinian children have been detained in the occupied West Bank and Gaza since October 2023, with rights groups alleging systematic ill-treatment, including beatings, solitary confinement, food deprivation, and denial of education.
A Bond/Relief Web briefing notes that between 38,000 and 55,000 Palestinian children were imprisoned under Israeli military law between 1967 and 2022, with numbers rising since the outbreak of the Gaza war in 2023. Ibrahim’s case drew particular attention because of his US citizenship and congressional involvement, but rights groups stress that it reflects conditions faced by hundreds of Palestinian minors each year.
Calls for Accountability and Reform
Following Ibrahim’s release, his family and supporters have called for independent medical assessments and accountability for the alleged abuses he suffered in detention, according to Al Jazeera and Common Dreams. Advocacy groups are urging US officials to establish clear protocols for responding when American minors are detained abroad, particularly in conflict zones, and to press Israel to bring its treatment of Palestinian children in line with international standards, including bans on ill-treatment and requirements for access to family and counsel.
While Ibrahim’s return home has ended one family’s ordeal, rights organizations say the case underscores the need for sustained international attention to the situation of Palestinian child detainees and for structural changes to Israel’s military court system in the occupied territories. Whether the diplomatic energy mobilized around this US teen’s detention leads to broader reforms will depend on continued advocacy and the willingness of US and Israeli authorities to address longstanding concerns about the rights of children living under occupation.
I am from Vancouver,Canada and i want to say Mohammed Ibrahim was luckey to get out of the Prisons he was in alive. Many young Palestinians who don't have Relatives abroad and are in Israeli Dungeons get treated so bad in these Dungeons that they die.Western Gov'ts should stop supporting Israeli Genocide !