Israel releases Florida teen after more than nine months in prison over allegations of rock throwing
By Mitch Perry | Florida Phoenix
December 1, 2025 at 12:31 PM EST
A 16-year-old Palestinian American youth from Brevard County was released from an Israeli prison Thursday after being held since February on allegations of rock throwing in the West Bank.
The U.S. State Department confirmed the release of Mohammed Ibrahim in a statement sent to the Phoenix on Friday.
“The Department of State welcomes the news of the release of U.S. citizen Mohammed Ibrahim from detention in Israel,” said a State Department spokesperson, who added that “the Trump Administration has no higher priority than the safety and security of U.S. citizens.”
During a press conference in Tampa in August, an attorney for his family said that Ibrahim had originally been held in Israel’s Megiddo Prison, where they said he had contracted scabies but been denied medical treatment. Family members said he had lost more than 25 pounds since his detention began.
In a press release issued Thursday by the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR)’s Florida chapter, the organization said it had shared a sworn statement with members of Congress detailing how Ibrahim had been “beaten with rifle butts, starved, denied medical care, and threatened by masked interrogators who coerced him into a false confession under fear of further violence.”
CAIR and CAIR-Florida are calling on the State Department, members of Congress, faith leaders, and civil-society organizations to press for a full public accounting of Ibrahim’s treatment and “concrete consequences for the Israeli officials responsible.”
NPR reported earlier this month Ibrahim had been charged with two counts of stone-throwing at a moving vehicle, which could have resulted in a penalty of 20 years. A military court had been scheduled to hear his case on Dec. 15.
The Guardian reported earlier this month that the Israeli embassy in Washington had been circulating a letter in the nation’s capital defending its nine-month detention of Ibrahim and the medical treatment. The publication said the letter had not mentioned his dramatic weight loss or that his family had virtually no contact with him since he was arrested in February for allegedly throwing “rocks at vehicles belonging to Israeli citizens” or a confession after being interrogated the night of his arrest.
In October, 27 members of Congress, including Florida Democratic U.S. Reps. Kathy Castor and Maxwell Frost, sent a letter to U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee expressing “grave concerns” over Ibrahim’s treatment, and called on them to press the Israeli government to release him.
Maryland U.S. Sen. Chris Van Hollen also signed that letter.
“I was relieved to hear from his family today and to know that he’s safe and where he belongs — with his family,” Van Hollen said on X on Thursday.
The letter noted that Ibrahim was the cousin of Sayfollah Mussalet, a 20-year-old U.S. citizen from Tampa who was reportedly beaten to death by Israel settlers in July, with no one yet held to account regarding his killing.
Independent Journalism for AllAs a nonprofit newsroom, our articles are free for everyone to access. Readers like you make that possible. Can you help sustain our watchdog reporting today?SUPPORT Florida Phoenix is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Florida Phoenix maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Michael Moline for questions: info@floridaphoenix.com.
The U.S. State Department confirmed the release of Mohammed Ibrahim in a statement sent to the Phoenix on Friday.
“The Department of State welcomes the news of the release of U.S. citizen Mohammed Ibrahim from detention in Israel,” said a State Department spokesperson, who added that “the Trump Administration has no higher priority than the safety and security of U.S. citizens.”
During a press conference in Tampa in August, an attorney for his family said that Ibrahim had originally been held in Israel’s Megiddo Prison, where they said he had contracted scabies but been denied medical treatment. Family members said he had lost more than 25 pounds since his detention began.
In a press release issued Thursday by the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR)’s Florida chapter, the organization said it had shared a sworn statement with members of Congress detailing how Ibrahim had been “beaten with rifle butts, starved, denied medical care, and threatened by masked interrogators who coerced him into a false confession under fear of further violence.”
CAIR and CAIR-Florida are calling on the State Department, members of Congress, faith leaders, and civil-society organizations to press for a full public accounting of Ibrahim’s treatment and “concrete consequences for the Israeli officials responsible.”
NPR reported earlier this month Ibrahim had been charged with two counts of stone-throwing at a moving vehicle, which could have resulted in a penalty of 20 years. A military court had been scheduled to hear his case on Dec. 15.
The Guardian reported earlier this month that the Israeli embassy in Washington had been circulating a letter in the nation’s capital defending its nine-month detention of Ibrahim and the medical treatment. The publication said the letter had not mentioned his dramatic weight loss or that his family had virtually no contact with him since he was arrested in February for allegedly throwing “rocks at vehicles belonging to Israeli citizens” or a confession after being interrogated the night of his arrest.
In October, 27 members of Congress, including Florida Democratic U.S. Reps. Kathy Castor and Maxwell Frost, sent a letter to U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee expressing “grave concerns” over Ibrahim’s treatment, and called on them to press the Israeli government to release him.
Maryland U.S. Sen. Chris Van Hollen also signed that letter.
“I was relieved to hear from his family today and to know that he’s safe and where he belongs — with his family,” Van Hollen said on X on Thursday.
The letter noted that Ibrahim was the cousin of Sayfollah Mussalet, a 20-year-old U.S. citizen from Tampa who was reportedly beaten to death by Israel settlers in July, with no one yet held to account regarding his killing.
Independent Journalism for AllAs a nonprofit newsroom, our articles are free for everyone to access. Readers like you make that possible. Can you help sustain our watchdog reporting today?SUPPORT Florida Phoenix is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Florida Phoenix maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Michael Moline for questions: info@floridaphoenix.com.