PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — A Northeast Philadelphia man has been released after being detained for days by Israeli law enforcement, according to the man’s family. They said they don’t know why the U.S. citizen was taken into custody in the first place.
Hussein Jabarin was on his family’s farm on Thursday in Al-Maniya, located near Bethlehem in the West Bank. His family said Israeli forces came and took him and 15 others into custody without announcing any charges.
For three days, his sister-in-law, Jude Husein, said his loved ones back in Northeast Philly — including his wife and two toddlers — were distraught.
“My family has not been able to eat or sleep,” she said. “We don’t even know how to operate like a functional human being.”
Husein said they weren’t able to contact Jabarin or any of the other family members detained, and the U.S. embassy offered no updates. He was finally released Sunday evening.
“It’s a sense of hopelessness, a feeling of no one having your back,” she said. “We’re in the dark, we’re worried, we’re unable to do anything to get a response.”
Husein expressed disappointment with U.S. Rep. Brendan Boyle; she wanted him or other elected officials to speak on it publicly.
In a statement, Boyle said his office pressed the State Department and Israeli Embassy for reasons why Jabarin, a U.S. citizen, was detained. He said Jabarin should have been released immediately if there was no charge, and he’s pleased Jabarin has since been released.
Husein said 10 of the detainees are still being held by Israeli authorities.
The man has been released, but several relatives remain in Israeli custody
The man has been released, but several relatives remain in Israeli custody
