Van Hollen, Welch, Castor Lead 12 Bicameral Colleagues in Demanding Accountability for Israel’s Detention and Abuse of Palestinian American Teenager Mohammed Ibrahim

U.S. Senators Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) and Peter Welch (D-Vt.), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, and U.S. Representative Kathy Castor (D-FL-14), this week led twelve bicameral lawmakers in demanding accountability for the Israeli military's nearly ten-month detention of Palestinian-American minor Mohammed Ibrahim. In their letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the lawmakers highlight how Mohammed's physical and psychological abuse by Israeli soldiers underscores Israel's systematic denial of basic rights and due process to Palestinian detainees, especially minors.

On February 16, 2025, American citizen and Florida resident Mohammed Ibrahim was arrested in his home in the town of al-Mazraa ash-Sharqiya, near Ramallah in the West Bank, at three o'clock in the morning by heavily armed Israeli soldiers. For nearly ten months, then 15-year-old Mohammed was detained without trial and denied visitation from family. He was finally released on November 27, 2025.

"Following his arrest and during his time in custody, we received periodic reports from Mohammed's family and U.S. Consular officers regarding Mohammed's treatment by Israeli soldiers. He and the Palestinian minors detained in the same cell were beaten, threatened, pepper sprayed in the face, and denied adequate food and medical care for, in Mohammed's case, more than nine months. Mohammed lost a third of his body weight and was covered in scabies, as were the others," wrote the lawmakers. "One of his cellmates, 17-year-old Walid Ahmad, who was never charged with a crime, died. His autopsy findings showed signs of prolonged malnutrition, untreated colitis, injuries likely caused by blunt trauma, and scabies. After his release, Mohammed described in detail the brutality and humiliation he and his cellmates were subjected to-mistreatment that no one should be forced to endure, least of all a 15-year-old."

The lawmakers concluded: "This type of abuse, which has become commonplace in the West Bank and Israeli prison facilities, must stop. There has been case after case of Palestinians, including hundreds of children, swept up in the Israeli military justice system, where they are not only denied basic rights of due process but subjected to systematic physical and psychological abuse. While such abuses are never permissible, we are especially concerned that cases involving abuse of U.S. citizens in the West Bank be thoroughly investigated and that those responsible are brought to justice."

In their letter, the lawmakers request immediate answers from Secretary Rubio to the following questions:

1. Has anyone from the State Department met with Mohammed since his release to hear from him directly about his treatment by Israel Prison Service (IPS) authorities? If not, why not?
2. Has the State Department requested the Government of Israel to conduct a thorough, impartial investigation of the abuse that he and the other minors who were detained with him were subjected to?
3. Have any IDF or IPS personnel been punished for the abuse of Mohammed Ibrahim?

Senators Van Hollen, Welch and Rep. Castor were joined on their letter by Sens. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), and Reps. Don Beyer (D-VA-08), Jerry Nadler (D-NY-12), Rashida Tlaib (D-MI-12), Maxwell Frost (D-FL-10), Greg Casar (D-TX-35), Maxine Dexter (D-OR-03), and Jim McGovern (D-MA-02).

In December, Senator Welch released a statement raising deep concern about the systematic incarceration, prosecution, and punishment of Palestinian children-including Mohammed Ibrahim-in the Israeli military justice system. Senator Welch also met with the families of five civilians killed and injured in the West Bank, including relatives of Mohammed Ibrahim. In October, Senators Welch, Van Hollen, and Rep. Castor called on Secretary Rubio and Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee to urgently intervene and advocate for Mohammed's release.

The full text of the letter is available here and below:

Dear Mr. Secretary,

Thank you for Mr. Paul D. Guaglianone's December 19, 2025, reply to our October 21, 2025, letter to you regarding then-15-year-old American citizen and Florida resident Mohammed Ibrahim, who was detained in Israel until his release on November 27, 2025. Your reply noted that he was released; however, it did not address any of our concerns about the way he was treated.

Following his arrest and during his time in custody, we received periodic reports from Mohammed's family and U.S. Consular officers regarding Mohammed's treatment by Israeli soldiers. According to Mohammed, he and the Palestinian minors detained in the same cell were beaten, threatened, pepper sprayed in the face, and denied adequate food and medical care for, in Mohammed's case, more than nine months. Mohammed lost a third of his body weight and was covered in scabies, as were the others. One of his cellmates, 17-year-old Walid Ahmad, who was never charged with a crime, died. Walid's autopsy findings reportedly showed signs of prolonged malnutrition, untreated colitis, injuries likely caused by blunt trauma, and scabies. After his release, Mohammed described in detail the brutality and humiliation he and his cellmates were subjected to-mistreatment that no one should be forced to endure, least of all a 15-year-old.

This type of abuse, which has become commonplace in the West Bank and Israeli prison facilities, must stop. There has been case after case of Palestinians, including hundreds of children, swept up in the Israeli military justice system, where they are not only denied basic rights of due process but subjected to systematic physical and psychological abuse. While such abuses are never permissible, we are especially concerned that cases involving abuse of U.S. citizens in the West Bank be thoroughly investigated and that those responsible are brought to justice. We request your answers to the following questions as soon as possible:

1. Has anyone from the State Department met with Mohammed since his release to hear from him directly about his treatment by Israel Prison Service (IPS) authorities? If not, why not?

2. Has the State Department requested the Government of Israel to conduct a thorough, impartial investigation of the abuse that he and the other minors who were detained with him were subjected to?

3. Have any IDF or IPS personnel been punished or held accountable for the abuse of Mohammed Ibrahim? We look forward to your response.

Sincerely,