PALM BAY, Fla. – A Palm Bay boy who turned 16 while in an Israeli prison has been released after nine months of incarceration, according to his family.
A video shared Thursday to social media shows Mohammed Ibrahim being embraced by others.
“Thank you everyone,” the post was captioned, in part. “You all made a difference.”
Ibrahim was taken into custody by the Israeli military in February when he was accused of throwing rocks at Israeli settlers while visiting family in the West Bank, according to the Associated Press.
His 20-year-old cousin, Sayfollah Musallet, was beaten to death by settlers in the West Bank earlier this year, the Associated Press reported.
“This is really about two American sisters, one who just buried her son and her older sister going to give her support and also praying that her son doesn’t join the club of Americans killed overseas,” said Ibrahim’s uncle, Zeyad Kadur.
Ibrahim reportedly faced a 20-year sentence. According to the Associated Press, Israel treats stone-throwers as militants while Palestinians widely see the practice as legitimate resistance to Israeli occupation.
An affidavit provided by Kadur states Ibrahim told his lawyer that he was assaulted by Israeli soldiers using rifle butts when he was arrested and only confessed to stone-throwing after he was threatened by interrogators with another beating, according to the Associated Press.
The calls to free Ibrahim reached beyond his relatives to include advocacy groups and some members of Congress.
The U.S. State Department said in a previous statement that it was tracking the case closely and working with the the Israeli government on the matter. It was unclear at the time of this report whether that intervention led to Thursday’s update.
Ibrahim’s family has since shared the following statement to social media:
Words can’t describe the immense relief we have as a family right now, to have Mohammed in his parents’ arms. We thank God for bringing Mohammed home to us today. Israeli soldiers had no right to take Mohammed from us in the first place. For more than 9 months, our family has been living a horrific and endless nightmare, particularly Mohammed’s mother and father, who haven’t been able to see or touch their youngest child for nearly a year, all while knowing Israeli soldiers were beating him and starving him. We couldn’t believe Mohammed was free until his parents wrapped their arms around him and felt him safe.
Right now, we are focused on getting Mohammed the immediate medical attention he needs after being subjected to Israel’s abuse and inhumane conditions for months. We just want Mohammed to be healthy and to have his childhood back.
Statement from family of Mohammed Ibrahim
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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