The family of Tariq Abu Khdeir, the 15-year-old Tampa teenager whose beating at the hands of Israeli police has made global headlines, was relieved to learn Sunday that he was released from jail.
Tariq was sentenced to nine days of home detention and his aunt, Sana Abu Khdeir, of Tampa, hopes that Tariq and his parents will be home from Israel by July 16.
But Sana Abu Khdeir was quick to add that her family’s ordeal is not over.
“This is (treatment) that Palestinians receive every day,” said Khdeir, who visits the region twice a year. “It’s outrageous that a victim gets (put in jail) while those who beat him walk free. That’s what really hurts. It’s a slap in the face.”
Sana Abu Khdeir said that her nephew would likely not have been released from Israel if he wasn’t American.
“He would have died if he wasn’t a U.S. citizen,” she said. “And definitely, nobody would have known. The world would not know.”
For more on this story, visit Geoff Fox (the Tampa Tribune).
