Israel Has Kidnapped Another American Teenager Without Recourse

A Palestinian-American man carries a U.S. flag past houses in the Israeli-occupied West Bank town of Turmus Ayya. (Photo by John Wessels/AFP via Getty Images)

Abdalkareem Issa Ahmed Safi has Texas roots but languishes in a notorious jail, one more victim of Benjamin Netanyahu’s cruel impunity.

By Prem Thakker, reposted from Zeteo, September 29, 2026

Israeli security forces snatched an American teenager with Texas roots from his family’s West Bank home in the middle of the night. What’s more, it’s an indication of how wanton the Israeli regime has grown that the latest victim is the cousin of another young American now languishing in an Israeli prison.

One day in late June, around 3am, Israeli officers raided the home of Abdalkareem Issa Ahmed Safi, in Jalazone, a few miles north of Ramallah in the occupied West Bank.

The Israelis took Safi just days before his 18th birthday, as he was in the middle of his national final exams – a crucial time for Palestinian children and a time when Israeli forces allegedly escalate their snatching of such students.

Days after snatching Safi, Israeli authorities issued an administrative detention order against him, based on information not disclosed to his lawyer or family. Administrative detention is a mechanism under which Israel imprisons people without charge or trial, typically based on secret evidence.

Now, Safi is being held at Ofer prison, where Palestinians have been subject to regular beatings, massively overcrowded cells, humiliation, constant shackling, and severe hunger. In August, Safi was moved from the children’s section to an adult area.

His detention order expires on Oct. 28 – which would be a more than four-month stint in prison, with no allegations made public. His family fears Israel could renew the detention indefinitely, as it does for many prisoners.

Safi’s father told Zeteo the family heard from a released prisoner that Safi is suffering from scabies. His father also said a U.S. embassy official relayed that his son reported being beaten on the first day of his detention.

The last time Safi’s father heard from his son was months ago, the night before Israel took him.

“I have no information about him, and he has no information about our concerns. We are really deeply concerned about his health situation,” said Safi’s father, whom Zeteo agreed not to name. “This is what I’m concerned for – the renewal of his detention under secret evidence. And this is a violation of international law and international human rights.”

Safi is at least the third young American held in an Israeli prison. One of them is his cousin.

In early June, in the middle of the night, Israeli officers raided 20-year-old Sama Safi’s home in Ramallah. She was then held without formal charges for weeks. Eventually, authorities accused her of involvement with a student organization they allege is affiliated with a “terrorist group.” Sama Safi, who has ties to Tampa, Florida, denies the allegations.

She suffers from a chronic medical condition that can cause severe fevers and pain. And yet after nearly 16 weeks, she remains in prison, with inadequate access to food and medical care.

Adam Karakrah, a 16-year-old with ties to Chicago, was detained in July.

Israeli authorities raided Karakrah’s home in the West Bank town of Sinjil on the morning of his sister’s graduation party. Soldiers allegedly threatened his mother and sisters, scoured family phones, interrogated family members, and threatened them with guns.

“When I showed them his U.S. passport and birth certificate, they didn’t even ask [about it], they threw them in my face,” one of Adam’s sisters told Zeteo. When the soldiers took Karakrah away, they blew kisses at his mother.

Last month, Karakrah was set to be released. His family paid bail, and he boarded a bus. At the last minute, Israeli authorities tied him to a separate case and imprisoned him again. He was initially detained for allegedly throwing rocks at Israeli cars and military vehicles. Authorities dropped that case but now allege involvement in rioting and other activities targeting Israelis. Karakrah’s family has little knowledge of what specifically prompted his re-imprisonment.

The Trump-Vance White House, State Department, and U.S. Embassy in Israel did not respond to requests for comment.

The three young Americans are among hundreds of young Palestinians Israel is holding in facilities notorious for prisoner abuse.

Last week, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed the UN General Assembly in New York. In his remarks, he unashamedly attacked Americans, including hundreds protesting against his visit, the mayor of the city he was speaking in, and a political commentator. The display showed how comfortable Netanyahu felt in mounting such attacks, despite the harm he has actively caused Americans, all while taking billions from American taxpayers.

At least three Americans are in Israeli prisons. At least nine have been killed by Israeli soldiers and settlers since Oct. 7.

Brad Parker, associate director of policy and an attorney at the Center for Constitutional Rights, explained to Zeteo how Israel’s violence pays no mind to whether one is American.

“Israeli authorities administer occupation by force and utilize the military law and court system to control all Palestinians regardless of American citizenship,” he said. “For those implementing an apartheid system, the only measure to determine what rights attach is whether you are Palestinian.”

Such outrages are not going entirely unanswered. This week, the Senate is expected to vote on a resolution, led by Senators Chris Van Hollen, Peter Welch, Bernie Sanders, and Tim Kaine, requiring the State Department to report to Congress on Israel’s human rights violence, and to provide information on both the killing of nine U.S. citizens by Israeli forces and settlers in the West Bank, and Israel’s detention of Palestinian children.

The resolution names the nine Americans killed by Israeli forces or settlers in the West Bank alone. They were Omar Assad, Shireen Abu Akleh, Tawfic Abdel Jabbar, Mohammad Khdour, Aysenur Ezgi Eygi, Amer Rabee, Khamis Ayyad, Sayfollah Kamel Musallet, and Nasrallah Muhammad Jamal Abu Siyam.

More and more Democrats have been willing to criticize Israeli violence in the West Bank, but not a single Senate Republican has meaningfully added their voice, even on violence against American citizens. The vote will put senators on the record as such violence reaches fever pitch – all while Israel’s joint war with the U.S. on Iran drags Republican approval ratings to historic lows.

Prem Thakker Zeteo Political Correspondent & Columnist

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