More than 100 US-based faith, human rights and civil rights organisations have called on Secretary of State Marco Rubio to intervene for the release of a 16-year-old Palestinian-American citizen imprisoned by Israel, according to a letter released Tuesday.
The coalition, which includes American Muslims for Palestine (AMP), Jewish Voice for Peace Action, the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), CODEPINK and the family of Aysenur Ezgi Eygi, a 26-year-old Turkish-American killed by Israeli forces last year, demanded urgent action to secure the release of Florida-born Mohammad Zaher Ibrahim.
The teenager has been held by the Israeli military since February after being detained during a family trip to the occupied West Bank.
The groups said Ibrahim is being held at Ofer prison “without trial”, where he has lost more than 30 pounds and contracted scabies amid what they described as “abusive and unsanitary” conditions.
His lawyers and family say he has been denied medical care, adequate food and all contact with his parents.
“Mohammed is an American child with a community in Florida who cares about him deeply. It is the responsibility of the US government to protect all American children, including Palestinian-Americans,” the letter said.
“We are demanding that the US Department of State work to secure the immediate release of Mohammed Ibrahim from Israeli prison and protect US citizens, particularly children,” it added.
Ibrahim’s father, Zaher, told US-based Zeteo News last week that his son was taken from their family home in Silwad by heavily armed Israeli soldiers in the middle of the night. The boy turned 16 behind bars.
The organisations said his detention violates the Fourth Geneva Convention, which prohibits the transfer of individuals from occupied territory into the territory of an occupying power.
The Israeli military did not immediately comment on the case. The State Department has not yet responded to the coalition’s letter.
