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American teenager Mohammed Ibrahim has been released nine months after Israeli forces detained him during a nighttime raid in the occupied West Bank, according to statements shared Thursday by the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), Anadolu reports.
Sixteen-year-old Ibrahim was arrested on Feb. 16 when Israeli forces reportedly entered his family’s home in al-Mazra’a ash-Sharqiya in the occupied West Bank.
His family said that Ibrahim was subjected to beatings, starvation, and other mistreatment while held in an Israeli military prison.
“Mohammed 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. His release is cause for celebration, but it must also be a turning point. The U.S. cannot continue providing unchecked support to a government that tortures American children,” said CAIR Florida on US social media company X.
While CAIR National welcomed his release, they emphasized the importance of taking action to prevent such treatment of a teenager.
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“Mohammed’s homecoming is a blessing, but it does not erase the torture and suffering he endured,” it said, adding: “The U.S. government has a responsibility to investigate Israel’s abuse of an American citizen and ensure that no other child—American or Palestinian—is subjected to the same treatment.”
His uncle, Zeyad Kadur, in a statement, said the family is relieved after months of fear.
“Words can’t describe the immense relief we have as a family right now, to have Mohammed in his parents’ arms,” he said, adding that they are focused on securing medical care after “Israel’s abuse and inhumane conditions for months.”
Urging the “American government to protect our families,” Kadur said: “Mohammed was forced to spend his 16th birthday unjustly imprisoned by Israel, separated from the people who love him. Now that Mohammed is with his family, we can finally wish him a happy birthday.”
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