The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today called on the State Department and FBI to investigate the shooting and detention of a 13-year-old Palestinian-American boy by Israeli forces in the West Bank.
Malik Jaffal, a 13-year-old Palestinian-American boy, was released from an Israeli prison Wednesday night after having been strip-searched, interrogated and wrongly arrested, his family said. Jaffal reportedly spent a week in an Israeli military prison in a small room with 12 other boys with no soap or showers after he refused to falsely confess to throwing rocks at Israeli troops.
He was shot in the arm by Israeli forces last month and was arrested a week after leaving the hospital. Jaffal’s mother, who was born in the US, said she told Israeli soldiers both she and her son were US citizens. One soldier reportedly told her “your son doesn’t have rights in Israel.”
SEE: 13-year-old Palestinian American was shot by Israeli soldiers and detained, his family says
In a statement, CAIR National Executive Director Nihad Awad said:
“Once again, the far-right Israeli government has shown its utter disregard for the basic human and civil rights of both Palestinians and American. The shooting and unjust detention of a thirteen-year-old American citizen cannot be ignored by our government. We call on the State Department and the FBI to investigate this incident and take the appropriate action that we failed to take when the Israeli government murdered American citizen and journalist Shireen Abu Akleh in broad daylight.”
He noted that yesterday, CAIR condemned Israel’s new ethnic cleansing order, the bulldozing of bodies in a Gaza cemetery and the forced starvation of Palestinian children.
SEE: CAIR Calls Israel’s New Ethnic Cleansing, Bulldozing of Bodies in Cemetery, Forced Starvation of Gaza Children the Latest ‘Israeli War Crimes of the Day’ –
CAIR’s mission is to protect civil rights, enhance understanding of Islam, promote justice, and empower American Muslims.
La misión de CAIR es proteger las libertades civiles, mejorar la comprensión del Islam, promover la justicia, y empoderar a los musulmanes en los Estados Unidos.
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CONTACT: CAIR National Deputy Director Edward Ahmed Mitchell, 404-285-9530, e-Mitchell@cair.com; CAIR Government Affairs Director Robert McCaw, 202-742-6448, rmccaw@cair.com; CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-744-7726, ihooper@cair.com, CAIR National Communications Manager Ismail Allison, 202-770-6280, iallison@cair.com