Mohammed Ibrahim Freed from Israeli Detention, but Many Palestinian Children Remain Jailed | Palestine Policy Roundup 12.09.25
Welcome to the Palestine Policy Roundup, a weekly publication of the IMEU Policy Project.
👀 ICYMI: MEMBERS OF CONGRESS SPEAK OUT
Sen. Chris Van Hollen: “16-year-old American Mohammed Ibrahim has been released after over 9 months in an Israeli prison without trial. I was relieved to hear from his family today and to know that he’s safe and where he belongs — with his family.”
Rep. Summer Lee: “Mohammed [Ibrahim] has finally been released after his unjust imprisonment by the Israeli military. Like many Palestinian children, he was wrongly detained. Praying for his healing as he reunites with his family.”
Sen. Bernie Sanders: “As winter arrives, over one million Gazans lack shelter, with 92% of housing destroyed by Israel. In violation of the ceasefire, Netanyahu continues to restrict the entry of tents and other aid, including food. The U.S. must demand that Israel allow full humanitarian access NOW.”
Sen. Peter Welch: “The incarceration, prosecution, and punishment of Palestinian children by Israeli military prosecutors and judges should stop. It is a flagrant violation of international law. It perpetuates an indefensible double standard of tiers of justice based on ethnicity, religion, and nationality…the United States should not explicitly or implicitly condone a flawed system of justice that systematically abuses and violates the rights of Palestinian children.”
DC DEVELOPMENTS
🔎 SENATORS URGE MARCO RUBIO TO INVESTIGATE HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS COMMITTED BY ISRAELI MILITARY
On the Wednesday before last, Senators Chris Van Hollen and Jack Reed led a letter with nine other senators pressing Secretary of State Marco Rubio to enforce the Leahy Law on Israeli military units accused of gross violations of human rights.
This letter is a follow-up to reporting by The Washington Post which cited a classified State Department Office of the Inspector General (OIG) report that found Israeli units committed “many hundreds” of human rights violations in Gaza. The report also warned that the volume of incidents and the State Department’s Leahy review process for Israel, which is deferential to the Israeli military and has never resulted in enforcement of the law against Israeli military units, raised doubts about the prospects for accountability for these human rights violations.
The letter also notes that the OIG report confirms that the Israel Leahy Vetting Forum (ILVF) contributes to a lengthier and more burdensome review process that allows Israeli military units to skirt accountability for credible accusations of gross violations of human rights.
Former State Department official Charles Blaha, who served in the State Department’s Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, and oversaw the application of the Leahy Law, noted in a report published last year that the ILVF creates a “unique, complex, time-consuming, high-level Leahy process”, and that the high level of review is only applied to Israel. He also noted that evidentiary standards to determine the ineligibility of Israeli military units for US weapons or funding are “impossibly high” and that the ILVF members inappropriately factor political considerations into its review.
This letter is a step in the right direction toward holding the Israeli military accountable for its genocidal violence in Gaza and toward holding Israel to the same standard as other countries under the Leahy Law.
However, the sheer volume of incidents reportedly cited in the OIG report also highlight the limits of the Leahy Law and point to systemic violations of human rights by the Israeli military. These widespread human rights abuses likely violate other US laws governing weapons transfers, such as the Arms Export Control Act and Foreign Assistance Act.
Members of Congress should continue to exercise oversight authority over weapons transfers, including through the Arms Export Control Act and Section 620I of the Foreign Assistance Act, and immediately end weapons deliveries to Israel. Representatives can also take a critical first step in this direction by cosponsoring the Block the Bombs Act.
IN THE NEWS
🖥️ THIS TUESDAY: WEBINAR ON RESOLUTION RECOGNIZING ISRAEL’S GENOCIDE IN GAZA
IMEU Policy Project is hosting a webinar on Genocide Prevention Day, this Tuesday, December 9th at 5:30 PM Eastern featuring Rep. Rashida Tlaib, Prof. Noura Erakat, and Dr. Josh Ruebner on Rep. Tlaib’s resolution that recognizes Israel’s genocide of Palestinians in Gaza and why the US must meet its legal obligations to prevent and punish genocide.
Last month, Rep. Rashida Tlaib and 20 original cosponsors introduced H.Res.876, a resolution which recognizes Israel’s genocide of Palestinians in Gaza and urges the US to uphold its obligations to prevent and punish genocide as a party to the Genocide Convention.
As the Trump administration attempts to whitewash Israel’s genocide in Gaza and pursues its 20-point plan–which would deny Palestinian self-determination–this resolution sends a crucial message of support for holding Israel accountable for its genocidal violence and upholding US obligations.
Register for the webinar here or by clicking on the picture below to learn more about the resolution, how it aims to meet US obligations, and how it complies with both US and international law.
💥 AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL: ISRAEL’S GENOCIDAL VIOLENCE IN GAZA CONTINUES DESPITE TRUMP’S GAZA PLAN
About two weeks ago, Amnesty International published a briefing that concluded that Israel is continuing its genocide of Palestinians in Gaza, primarily through its restrictions on the entry of humanitarian aid and continued displacement of Palestinians. The briefing notes that circumstances cited in its 2024 report identifying Israel’s commission of the genocidal act of inflicting conditions of life to bring about the destruction of Palestinians has not changed and that the condition of Palestinians has declined as a result of Israel’s destruction of infrastructure in Gaza.
The briefing accuses Israel of maintaining conditions in Gaza that contribute to a “slow death” of Palestinians through the deprivation of food, medical services, sanitation, and more. It focuses in part on Israel’s restrictions on the entry of fuel and equipment needed to repair water infrastructure in Gaza. Israel destroyed much of Gaza’s water and sanitation infrastructure, including wells and water treatment facilities, during its genocidal campaign in Gaza–which Human Rights Watch also identified as an act of genocide.
The obstruction of fuel and equipment needed to make repairs to water infrastructure also means that Palestinians are still struggling to find clean water. The obstruction of fuel also prevents the operation of water pumps, and Israel’s destruction of sewage infrastructure has caused contaminated water to flood the tents and belongings of displaced Palestinians–not only destroying their belongings but also exposing them to disease.
The briefing also notes that Israel’s military presence in the more than half of Gaza’s total area that is behind the Israeli redeployment line is also contributing to genocidal conditions. Palestinians who are displaced from this area are still forced to live in unsanitary and overcrowded conditions in displacement camps. These displacement camps lack critical infrastructure, such as water pumps, and the conditions contribute to the spread of disease.
Following Trump’s 20-point Gaza plan, the Israeli military forcibly displaced Palestinians from areas behind the Israeli redeployment line, forcing all Palestinians in Gaza to remain in less than half of its total area. Palestinians who attempt to return to their homes near the redeployment line–which cuts through neighborhoods in urban areas and is still largely unmarked–are routinely shot and killed by the Israeli military.
In response to this briefing, Members of Congress should send a clear message opposing Israel’s continued genocidal actions and violence against Palestinians. Representatives can take a step toward meeting US obligations to prevent and punish genocide and send that message by cosponsoring H.Res.876.
📖 LEARN MORE: Check out IMEU Policy Project’s policy memo on Israel’s genocide of Palestinians in Gaza, US obligations under the Genocide Convention, and the need for this resolution.
📣 TAKE ACTION: Write to your Representative and urge them to sign on to H.Res.876, or thank them for signing on!
PALESTINE/ISRAEL DEVELOPMENTS
❌ ISRAEL VIOLATES CEASEFIRE BY KEEPING RAFAH GATE PARTIALLY CLOSED, AND BY CONTINUING TO KILL PALESTINIANS
Last Wednesday, Israel announced that it would open the Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt only to allow Palestinians to leave. Let’s be clear: this partial opening of the crossing violates Israel’s commitment under Trump’s 20-point Gaza plan, which called for the full reopening of the crossing in both directions. The Rafah border crossing was fully closed following Israel’s invasion of Rafah in May 2024 and has remained closed since.
Palestinians who wish to exit from Rafah will also reportedly be subject to approval by the Israeli military. The crossing is also behind the Israeli redeployment line, meaning that Palestinians who exit from Rafah will have to traverse the area under Israeli control–putting their lives at risk as Israeli soldiers continue to kill Palestinians who even come near the line.
Additionally, this partial opening is also raising concerns that it is a step in Israel’s long-standing and well-documented plans for the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians from Gaza. By not allowing Palestinians to come back into Gaza via the Rafah gate, Palestinians who have already left Gaza and those who may now leave do not have a way to return to their homes.
This development also comes on the heels of a mysterious flight that dropped Palestinians from Gaza in South Africa–which was reportedly orchestrated by an organization with ties to the Israeli military’s bureau for the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians from Gaza.
Israel has also continued its genocidal violence against Palestinians in Gaza. On the Saturday before last, an Israeli drone strike killed two Palestinian children who were collecting firewood near Khan Younis. Last Saturday, an elderly woman and her son were reportedly hunted down by an Israeli drone and killed in Gaza City. In both incidents, the Israeli military accused the victims of approaching the Israeli redeployment line–which is largely unmarked.
🔓 MOHAMMED IBRAHIM FREED AFTER NINE MONTHS IN ISRAELI DETENTION, BUT COUNTLESS PALESTINIAN CHILDREN STILL DETAINED
On Thanksgiving, Mohammed Ibrahim–a 16-year-old Palestinian-American US citizen–was released from an Israeli prison after nine months of detention without trial. Mohammed was originally detained by the Israeli military in a night raid on his family’s home in February.
Mohammed’s release raises critical questions about the Trump administration’s failure to secure his release and its refusal to stand up to the Israeli government to protect US citizens. From the beginning, the Trump administration could have put more pressure on Israel to release Mohammed–but it didn’t. In October, more than two dozen lawmakers pressed the administration on Mohammed’s case. Additionally this year, two US citizens–Amer Rabee and Sayfollah Musallet, the latter of whom is Mohammed’s cousin–were killed by Israeli violence in the West Bank, yet the Trump administration has refused to hold Israel accountable for their killings, much less even investigate them.
Last month, Mohammed was reportedly beaten by Israeli prison guards when he tried to wave to his father on a courtroom security camera during his last appearance before an Israeli military court. Mohammed’s experience reflects the rampant abuse and torture to which Palestinians held by Israel are subjected, as reported by the Israeli human rights NGO Physicians for Human Rights Israel.
After he was released, Mohammed was taken to a hospital, and his family noted that he was severely underweight and suffering from scabies. Mohammed reportedly lost more than a quarter of his weight while in Israeli detention, likely due to the meager rations of food that Mohammed described in an interview with Defense for Children International-Palestine (DCI-P). Despite a ruling by the Israeli High Court of Justice earlier this year that ordered Israeli prison authorities to give Palestinians enough food to maintain health, Israeli rights groups reported that Israeli prisons have refused to comply and are still starving detained Palestinians.
Mohammed’s conditions reflect those faced by Palestinian children who are held by Israel. According to DCI-P, Israel is detaining 350 Palestinian children in its prisons, and countless more are likely being held by the Israeli military. Nearly half of the 350 children in Israeli prisons are held without charge or trial, and, like in Mohammed’s case, many children are beaten and subjected to intense interrogations by the Israeli military. All Palestinians in the West Bank, including children, are prosecuted by the Israeli military. Israel is the only country in the world that systematically prosecutes children in military courts, subjecting them to unfair trials.
⚠️ PALESTINIANS EXECUTED AFTER SURRENDERING AS ISRAEL INVADES WEST BANK
As the Israeli military carried out raids across the northern West Bank two weeks ago, Israeli troops shot and killed two Palestinians at point-blank range in Jenin as they attempted to surrender. The UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights condemned this killing as an apparent summary execution and called for an independent investigation into the incident.
Footage of the killing showed the Israeli military using an excavator machine to damage a building when the two Palestinian men emerged from it with their hands up. As they knelt on the ground, Israeli soldiers kicked them and ordered them back into the building where they were then killed. Following the shooting, Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir praised the actions of the troops and promoted the commander of their unit.
These killings came as the Israeli military launched more raids in the West Bank last week, including a siege on Tubas and raids on other towns including Jenin, where the two Palestinians were killed. Leaflets reportedly distributed by the Israeli military in Tubas warned residents that it was prepared to destroy infrastructure and displace Palestinians as it did in Jenin and Tulkarem earlier this year.
Last month, Human Rights Watch reported that the Israeli military’s displacement of Palestinians in those areas amounted to war crimes and crimes against humanity.