Washington (October 22, 2025) - Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) today joined Senators Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) and Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) and Representatives Kathy Castor (D-Fla.) and Maxwell Frost (D-Fla.), along with 12 Senators and 10 House members, in writing to Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and U.S Ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, pressing the Trump Administration on the detention of Mohammed Zaher Ibrahim, a 16-year-old American citizen who has been held in Israel’s custody since February 16, 2025.
The lawmakers begin, “We write with grave concern regarding the detention without trial of Mohammed Zaher Ibrahim. Mohammed is a U.S. citizen from Florida who was reportedly blindfolded, handcuffed, and arrested on February 16th, 2025 when Israeli forces reportedly entered his family home in al-Mazra'a ash-Sharqiya at 3 a.m. He was detained when he was 15 years old and turned 16 in prison. He has been accused of throwing rocks at Israeli settlers, but no evidence has been publicly provided to support this allegation.”
They continue, “While U.S. embassy officials have been able to conduct visits, Mohammed has been denied all other contact with the outside world and his family has not been able to contact him since his detention. Senators Van Hollen and Merkley met with Mohammed’s family in the West Bank, and Rep. Castor, Rep. Frost, and other members also met with his family separately. His family has received updates from U.S. embassy staff and former detainees who described his alarming weight loss, deteriorating health, and signs of torture as his court hearings continue to be routinely postponed. His family reports that Mohammed has lost nearly a quarter of his body weight and contracted scabies after being detained in Megiddo Prison and now in Ofer Prison.”
“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. 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,” they go on to note.
“As we have been told repeatedly, ‘the Department of State has no higher priority than the safety and security of U.S. citizens abroad.’ 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 lawmakers conclude.
The letter was signed by Senators Schatz, Warnock, Sanders, Welch, Schiff, Wyden, Murray, Kaine, Warren, Luján, Heinrich, and Duckworth and Representatives Dexter, Casar, McGovern, Moore, Tlaib, García, Jayapal, Nadler, Smith, and Ramirez.
The text of the letter is available HERE.
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