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Good morning, friends. Prem here. Benjamin Netanyahu just came to the U.S. for the ninth time since Donald Trump took office, which is an outrage for at least 74,000 reasons – that being the number of Palestinians killed in Gaza since Oct. 7, 2023.
Now, Zeteo can reveal another reason for outrage: Netanyahu was welcomed to the U.S. while holding another American teenager in prison, because of “secret evidence.”
My report is below. Also in today’s ‘First Draft,’ we look at an alarming sign for Trump as even erstwhile ‘Front Row Joe’ super fans begin to fall out of love, and there’s more news about the president’s pointless, damaging war with Iran. Let’s read on.
A Real Teen Nightmare
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.