Palestinian-American Teen Held in Israeli Custody for 3 Weeks
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iStock/Thinkstock(JERUSALEM) — United States officials are “gravely concerned” about a Palestinian-American teen who has been in Israeli custody for three weeks, the State Department said Monday.
Another teen, Tariq Khdeir, drew headlines when he was arrested and allegedly beaten by Israeli authorities, but the State Department said another teen, 15-year-old U.S. citizen Mohamed Abu Nie, was arrested in Israel on July 3 during protests in the Shoafat neighborhood of East Jerusalem.
“Considering his age, we are calling for a speedy resolution to this case,” State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said on Monday. “This 15-year-old has now been held for three weeks in Israeli custody and has seen his parents only once briefly during that night. And so we are certainly gravely concerned about the detention of an American citizen child.”
A U.S. consular official visited him on July 17 and attended a hearing on July 22, Psaki said, and the U.S. embassy in Tel Aviv is in contact with his lawyer. The teen did not immediately inform Israeli officials that he was an American citizen, Psaki said, resulting in his delayed consular access.
He faces charges of, “rock-throwing, attacking police, carrying a knife and leading protests,” Psaki said.
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