Starving and Abandoned: A Palestinian American Child in Israeli Detention
An interview with the father of Mohammed Zaher Ibrahim, the 16-year-old Palestinian American jailed in Israel's notorious Megiddo prison
On Wednesday, I spoke with the family of Mohammed Zaher Ibrahim, the 16-year-old Palestinian American boy who has been jailed in Israel’s notorious Megiddo prison since February, accused of throwing a rock on an empty street. He has lost at least a quarter of his body weight and has contracted a severe case of scabies. They have every reason to fear for his life and are desperate to get him home before he meets the same fate as several of his fellow prisoners, who have died from torture, disease, and starvation. As I wrote last week, until a July 31 Guardian story, the Western press had never mentioned his name, and since then, not a single major American outlet has covered it, despite his family’s desperate pleas for help.
Before you watch the interview below, I want to share Al Jazeera’s new reporting on the July 11 lynching that left two young Palestinians dead, including Mohammed’s first cousin, 20-year-old Sayfollah “Saif” Musallet. Mohammed and Saif were supposed to spend this summer working together in the family’s Tampa ice cream shop.
As you read this, remember that the violent settlers in the West Bank have the full backing of the Israeli government. Many of their guns came from the US.
Saif spent the afternoon of July 11 walking through the olive groves of al-Baten with friends. When the settlers showed up and began throwing rocks, there were about a dozen at first, then nearly 70 armed with clubs and guns, sweeping down from the hills and roaring in on trucks from Highway 60. They hunted the boys for hours—chasing them in packs, cutting off escape routes, running them down with trucks, and firing indiscriminately in their direction. Anyone caught was beaten and tortured; one was shot.
That was 23-year-old Muhammad “Rizik” al-Shalabi, who injured his leg while jumping over a stone wall. Even then, he tried to carry a wounded boy to safety before settlers surrounded him, shot him in the chest, and left him to die.
Another young man was captured by a gang of nine settlers and tied up. Witnesses say they beat him with their weapons, shattering his knee, before dragging him into a car, firing bullets around him, and throwing him to the ground again and again until he begged to be killed. One settler replied, “I’m not going to kill you. I’m going to chop off your arms and your legs and throw you on the side of the road like a dog.”
Saif was struck in the back with a rock and collapsed. Settlers swarmed, beating him with clubs and sticks. When they left him, he staggered away, dazed, before collapsing beneath an oak tree. There, for two and a half hours, he vomited and struggled to breathe as his condition worsened. His friends called desperately for help, but Israeli military drones circled overhead, dropping tear gas on villagers trying to reach him. Settlers and soldiers blocked ambulances, shattering windshields and stalling their entry.
It took more than two hours for an ambulance crew to finally reach Saif. By the time they carried him back across the hills, he was dead.
Rizik’s body wasn’t found until 10 pm. In addition to being shot, “it was clear that he had been badly beaten by settlers - his hand was clenched and his arm contorted.”
When all was said and done, two were dead, more than 50 were injured, and not a single settler was charged.
In our interview, Zaher, Mohammed’s father, recalled what Saif’s father told Ambassador Mike Huckabee when the two Palestinian American men met him—one seeking justice for his murdered son, the other fighting to free his son from military detention:
“They took my son away. We can do nothing about that. But can you give us something back, give us some happiness back? Can you at least get Mohammed out of jail?”
Here’s my interview with Zaher, edited for clarity and concision.
Please take two minutes to complete these forms: one and two (for US residents only). They’ll autogenerate emails to your representatives, pressing them to make the call that could bring Mohammed home.
Thank you to Alex Megaro for the pro-bono video editing.
If you find my work valuable, I ask two things:
Just reading this took me long pauses and putting the phone down multiple times to breathe. I can’t imagine what it takes to write it. Thank you. Bless you.
The world needs to know. Supporters of Israel need to know. Our representatives need to know. And the corrupt, contemptible, and craven MSM needs to be reminded what real reporting looks like. Your reporting is invaluable for anyone who wishes to hear and see the truth. A heartfelt thank you for your courage and work.