Press Releases
3 March 2022 |Reference 08/2022
Short Link:
The Israeli authorities at Erez Crossing have arrested a Palestinian merchant who was crossing into Israel on business with an Israeli-issued permit. Israel continues to impose a tight closure and blockade on the Gaza Strip, exercising total control over all crossings between Gaza and Israel, including Erez and arbitrarily arresting Palestinians in blatant violation of their rights to liberty, security, and freedom of movement.
According to Al Mezan’s field reporting, at around 2pm on 1 March 2022, Israeli authorities at Erez crossing arrested 48-year-old Palestinian merchant, Wael Taha Matar, a resident of Gaza City who works in Israel. His brother told Al Mezan that Wael Taha Matar went to Erez to cross on business, having been granted a travel permit as a merchant at the end of 2021. At around 4pm on Wednesday, 2 March 2022, his wife was informed of the arrest through a phone call from the Israeli intelligence services.
Al Mezan reiterates its strongest condemnation of Israel’s closure policies, notably its systematic use of crossings as a means of entrapment, arbitrary arrest, and often times attempted coercion of Palestinians in flagrant violation of international humanitarian and human rights law. Accordingly, Al Mezan calls on the international community to urge Israel to immediately lift its closure of Gaza, while ensuring the full and unconditional enjoyment of Palestinians’ right to freedom of movement. To this end, Israel’s policy of arbitrary detention must end.
Articles
Diaries from the war
Legal Guide Series
The Arab Organization for Human Rights (AOHR)
Testimonies
Ofer Prison: IPS Conducted a 3-Day Campaign of Unrestrained Violence against Palestinian Detainees
Al-Naqab Prison: Recent Visit Confirms Continued Israeli Abuses of Gaza Detainees Amid International Silence
Call to International Action: Close Israeli Torture Camps and Ensure Accountability for Atrocities Against Palestinian Detainees
Al Mezan's Probe Unveils Thousands of Gaza Detainees Facing Torture and Ill-treatment in Israeli Prisons, Including 1,650 Held Under Unlawful Combatants Law
On the International Day of Solidarity with Palestinian Journalists: in the absence of justice and accountability, Israel continues to target journalists with impunity