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Al Mezan condemns the arbitrary arrest by Israeli authorities of Gazan merchant at Erez crossing

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22 December 2022 |Reference 76/2022

Israeli authorities continue to enforce its settler-colonial closure and blockade on the Gaza Strip, whereby they completely control Palestinians' freedom of movement to and from the Gaza Strip and use crossings to entrap and arbitrarily arrest Palestinians. In the latest incident monitored by Al Mezan, Israeli authorities arbitrarily arrested a merchant at Erez crossing.

 

According to Al Mezan’s field reporting, on Wednesday evening, 21 December 2022, Israeli authorities at Erez crossing detained Palestinian merchant Hussam Sulieman Abu Younis, a 39-year-old resident of Khan Younis City. Abu Younis holds a merchant permit and was seeking to cross Erez to travel to the West Bank. Abu Younis’s family received a phone call from the Palestinian Civil Affairs Committee the next day informing them that Abu Younis was being held in Israeli custody, without mentioning any other details.

 

Al Mezan’s documentation shows that since the beginning of 2022, Israeli authorities have arrested nine Palestinians at Erez Crossing, including two merchants.

 

Al Mezan reiterates its strongest condemnation of Israel’s closure policies, in particular the systematic use of the crossings as a means of entrapping and arbitrarily arresting 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 illegal closure of Gaza, while ensuring the full and unconditional enjoyment of Palestinians’ right to freedom of movement.