American family has not spoken to 15-year-old son in Israeli prison since February, Arab News told

Arab News

5 days ago

CHICAGO: The parents of 15-year-old American Muhammad Ibrahim, who was abducted by 20 masked Israeli soldiers carrying automatic weapons who kicked down the front door of their home in Al-Mazra'a Ash-Sharqiya on Feb. 16, said they have been prevented from seeing their son since the abduction.
The father, Zaher Ibrahim, said masked Israeli soldiers arrived at their home at 3 a.m., grabbed his son without any explanation, and incarcerated him at the notorious Megiddo Prison, denying visits from family and legal representatives.
'My son Muhammad is 15 years old. He looks like he is 12. The Israeli soldiers interrogated and beat him for hours until he was forced to confess to throwing a rock. He has been in prison now since Feb. 16 and we have not been allowed to speak with him, see him or get him any representation,' Zaher Ibrahim told Arab News.
'But when the Israeli settlers beat and killed his cousin Sayfollah (Musallet) last February, no one was arrested or charged, and they know who the Israeli settlers were who killed him. We're Americans and yet it means nothing to the Israelis. They must release my son.'
Zaher Ibrahim said the Israeli soldiers 'blindfolded my son, placed handcuffs on him, and put him in their military Jeep without any explanation. His mother and I haven't seen him since.'
The tragedy of the Ibrahim family is directly connected to the case of Musallet, the 20-year-old American who was beaten to death by Israeli settlers on July 11.
Zaher Ibrahim is the brother-in-law of Kamel Musallet, the father of Sayfollah. Their wives are sisters, he said.
The two American families live in Florida and have homes in the West Bank village near Ramallah where the killing of Sayfollah Musallet and the abduction of Muhammad Ibrahim took place. Zaher Ibrahim says he holds out hope for his son, but remains concerned.
Kamel Musallet told Arab News that US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee visited his home about 10 days after his son was killed and promised to look into the attack and other attacks against other Americans, but that nothing had happened.
Musallet said: 'He promised to do something about the murder of my son, but I haven't heard anything more.
'Huckabee said he was concerned about the safety of American citizens but, so far, we haven't heard anything about my nephew Muhammad or anything about the settlers who killed my son.'
Musallet said that three weeks before Muhammad Ibrahim was taken from his home, the two cousins had been working together in the family's ice cream shop in Tampa, Florida.
Zaher Ibrahim said: 'These are just boys. They have been attacked and falsely accused and, worse, they get no justice. No representation. They are Americans.'
He added that it took four days following the arrest for the Israeli military to tell him his son had been held for 'throwing a rock,' but that no one had been arrested for the killing of his nephew Sayfollah. 'How is that possible?' Zaher Ibrahim asked.
He had been told by a boy released from the prison that his son was alive, and added that the US Embassy had contacted him twice to say it would look into his son's health.
Zaher Ibrahim added: 'The Israelis don't give you any clothes. You wear the same clothes that you have when they arrested you the entire time in the prison, and they are not washed. It causes skin disease and unhealthy situations.
'We haven't been able to see him or speak to him, or get him clothes or check on his health. It's wrong.'
He said he had learned that the son of another American Palestinian family living nearby had also been abducted eight days earlier by Israeli soldiers, and that his family had also not been able to learn anything about his status or the reasons for his abduction.
He said: 'This is happening and someone needs to do something about this. It's wrong.'
Kemel Musallet said he was disappointed by the response of the US government to the abduction and killing of Americans by Israeli settlers and soldiers.