The US state department is appointing a dedicated official to handle the case of Mohammed Ibrahim, a 16-year-old dual American-Palestinian citizen who has been held in an Israeli military prison for more than seven months.
Ibrahim is scheduled to meet with the new state department point person next week, marking an escalation in diplomatic efforts surrounding the Florida teenager’s imprisonment at the Ofer military prison in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
The development comes as Ibrahim’s family has intensified its campaign for the boy’s release. Last week, relatives joined other families of Americans killed or detained by Israeli forces or settlers in a series of high-profile meetings with lawmakers on Capitol Hill.
That trip included sit-downs with more than a dozen members of Congress, as well as a press conference with the representative Pramila Jayapal of Washington state and the families of Ayşenur Ezgi Eygi, Sayfollah Musallet and Tawfic Ajaq, all of whom were killed by in the West Bank in the last two years. They were accompanied by the parents of Rachel Corrie, the American activist killed by an Israeli bulldozer in the Gaza Strip in 2003. The US government has not independently investigated any of these deaths, deferring instead to Israel’s own inquiries.
The Guardian first reported that Ibrahim was arrested in February at age 15 from his family’s home in the West Bank over allegations of rock throwing. The Guardian first mentioned Ibrahim’s imprisonment after reporting on Musallet, his cousin, who was allegedly beaten to death by Israeli settlers on the family’s farm in July.
The teenager has lost significant weight during his detention and at one point had contracted scabies. His family said they have been unable to maintain regular contact with him.
The Guardian has reached out to Israel’s prison service, foreign ministry and military for comment. Military court documents reviewed by the Guardian show Israeli authorities accuse Ibrahim of throwing rocks at Israeli vehicles in at least two separate incidents.
The state department said in a statement that it provides appropriate consular assistance to all citizens detained abroad, but that it would not comment further given “privacy and other considerations”.
The case has drawn attention from Florida lawmakers, including Kathy Castor, who has publicly called for his release. More than 100 civil rights and faith-based organizations in the US also signed a letter demanding his release and US government intervention.
Özden Bennett, the sister of 26-year-old Eygi, who was killed by an Israeli sniper last year while attending a protest against settlement expansion in the West Bank, grew emotional when speaking of Ibrahim while in Washington. “He feels like my little brother,” she said in a meeting with Virginia representative Jim McGovern. “I can’t do anything for my sister but we can help him”.
In a meeting with senators Jeff Merkley of Oregon and Chris Van Hollen of Maryland, she called on them to travel to the Ofer prison to demand his release, invoking Van Hollen’s visit to El Salvador to meet with Kilmar Ábrego García, a man who was sent there by the Trump administration despite an immigration court order preventing his deportation.
Van Hollen and Merkley met with Ibrahim’s father during their Middle East delegation trip earlier this month, their offices confirmed.
Merkley said in a statement to the Guardian that he was “heartbroken” to hear about Ibrahim’s imprisonment. “He deserves humane treatment and a fair trial,” he added. “My colleagues and I call on Secretary of State Rubio and the Netanyahu government to uphold Ibrahim’s basic human rights and dignity.”