US lawmakers demand accountability for Palestinian-American teen detained in Israel | US Congress
Fifteen members of Congress wrote a letter to U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio demanding to know what steps the United States has taken in response to the mistreatment of a Palestinian American teenager held in Israeli custody for nine months.
letterThe film, led by Senator Peter Welch and first seen by the Guardian, follows the case of Florida resident Mohammed Ibrahim, who was 15 when Israeli soldiers raided his family’s West Bank home in February 2025. He was accused of throwing objects at moving vehicles and taken directly to hospital on his return, before being released on 27 November after pleading guilty and a suspended sentence.
At the time, the foreign office told his family that the then 16-year-old was extremely underweight, losing around a third of his body weight and suffering from a scabies skin infection several months into detention, according to cables seen by the Guardian.
Mohammed told family members and U.S. consular officials that he and other Palestinian children held in the same cell were beaten, threatened, pepper-sprayed, and deprived of adequate food and medical care during his detention.
Inside report With the advocacy group Children’s Defense International – Palestine, Mohammed said that while he was still in custody, he received three small pieces of bread and a spoonful of yoghurt for breakfast and was not given dinner.
“There have been many incidents where Palestinians, including hundreds of children, have been dragged into the Israeli military justice system, where they have been not only deprived of their basic rights to due process, but also subjected to systematic physical and psychological abuse,” the lawmakers wrote in their letter dated February 16. “While such abuses are never tolerated, we are particularly concerned that cases of abuses of US citizens in the West Bank are thoroughly investigated and those responsible are brought to justice.”
The letter asks Rubio three questions: whether State Department officials have met with Mohammed since his release to hear his statement directly, whether Washington has asked Israel to conduct an impartial investigation into the treatment of Ibrahim and his fellow detainees, and whether any Israeli military or prison personnel have been held accountable.
It also follows what lawmakers described as an inadequate response to a letter first sent to Rubio in October. The original response, signed by official Paul Guaglianone in December, acknowledged Muhammad’s release but did not address the concerns raised in the letter.
The case first attracted widespread attention after the Guardian revealed Ibrahim’s case in July 2025. More than 100 U.S. human rights, faith-based and nongovernmental organizations called for Muhammad’s release last August, and the State Department appointed a special case officer in September. His family said they had virtually no direct contact with him during his time in custody and relied on U.S. embassy officials for updates.
The latest letter was signed by senators Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, Ron Wyden, Chris Van Hollen, Jeffrey Merkley and Brian Schatz, as well as members of the House of Representatives such as Rashida Tlaib, Jerry Nadler, Jim McGovern and Maxwell Frost.
Lawmakers also brought up the death of Walid Ahmad, a 17-year-old who shared Mohammed’s cell and was never charged with a crime. The autopsy reportedly found signs of long-term malnutrition, untreated colitis, injuries consistent with blunt trauma, and scabies.
“Such abuses, which have become commonplace in West Bank and Israeli prisons, must end,” the lawmakers wrote.
The State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
