Director of central operations at the Palestinian Borders and Crossings Authority Maher Abu al-Ouf affirmed that Ramzi Abu Anza was detained at the crossing while heading to participate in a training course in Ramallah.
“We were informed that he was detained and taken to investigation for unknown reasons” he added.
Erez is the only land crossing between Gaza and Israel although travel is heavily restricted by Israeli authorities as part of a crippling blockade on the coastal enclave in place since 2007.
Palestinians detained at Erez are often interrogated for several hours sometimes for days before they are either allowed in or sent back to Gaza.
The Gaza Strip has suffered under an Israeli military blockade since 2007. Residents of Gaza suffer from high unemployment and poverty rates as well as the consequences of three devastating wars waged by Israel since 2008 most recently in the summer of 2014.
The UN has said that the besieged Palestinian territory could become “uninhabitable” by 2020 as its 2 million residents remain in dire poverty due to the Israeli blockade that has crippled the economy while continuing to experience slow-paced reconstruction efforts aimed at rebuilding homes for some 75000 Palestinians who remain displaced since 2014.
