Representative Kathy Castor (D-FL) spearheaded a recent letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Israeli Ambassador Mike Huckabee demanding Israel release Mohammed Zaher Ibrahim, who was taken prisoner in February.
Ibrahim, 16, was arrested for supposedly throwing rocks at Israeli settlers in the West Bank despite no evidence being presented. He has been held in the Megiddo and Ofer prisons. Ibrahim has been described as losing alarming amounts of weight and suffering from scabies during his ongoing captivity without consistent contact with his family and the outside world.
"We are concerned about reports of the mistreatment of Palestinians in Israeli detention facilities and prisons, including both of the prisons that have held Mohammed," Rep. Castor's letter reads. "The mistreatment of Palestinians in Israeli prisons was recently corroborated in Israel's September 7th Supreme Court ruling, which stated the Israeli government has deprived Palestinian detainees of even a minimum subsistence diet and ordered authorities to increase the amount and quality of food served to inmates."
In September, the Department of State announced that an official had been appointed to investigate and, if possible, secure the release of Ibrahim.
"As we have been told repeatedly, 'the Department of State has no higher priority than the safety and security of U.S. citizens abroad,'" Rep. Castor's letter concluded. "We share that view and urge you to fulfill this responsibility by engaging the Israeli government directly to secure the swift release of this American boy. We request a response to this letter by November 3rd, including what efforts you have made on Mohammed's case."
The Florida Congresswoman's letter comes on the heels of Representative Jared Moskowitz's (D-FL) bipartisan legislation expanding the display of the Hostage and Wrongful Detainee flag on federal property.
Rep. Moskowitz's bill expands the number of days this flag is displayed: January 20 and November 4 for the Iranian hostage crisis, August 19 in remembrance of journalist James Foley's death at the hands of ISIS, and finally, October 7th, when Hamas took more than 240 people hostage, including 12 Americans, during their horrific attack on Israel.
