Palestinian businessman detained at northern Gaza crossing

Published August 27th, 2015 - 01:29 GMT
Al Bawaba
Al Bawaba

A Palestinian businessman, Sami Ismail Tabash, 52, was detained at the Erez crossing in the northern Gaza Strip as he was headed to the occupied West Bank on Tuesday, a relative said.

Zuheir Tabash said that authorities from the Palestinian Authority's civil affairs department informed his family of Sami's detention, who in turn informed the Red Cross.

A spokesperson for the Israeli body which coordinates activity in the occupied Palestinian territory did not immediately respond for comment on Tabash's detention.

Israeli authorities in June granted Palestinian businessmen from the Gaza Strip permits for the first time since 2007.

Palestinians in the Gaza Strip may be granted either a BMC permit, allowing its holder to enter Israel through crossings or checkpoints used by Israelis, or BMG permits, which enable the business persons to enter Israel as well to travel via the Allenby bridge as "VIP" travelers for up to six months.

The new permits were being issued amid a reported increase in the detention of Gazan business workers at the Erez crossing in March and February of this year.

"The Erez crossing has become a trap for Gaza merchants who have newly received entry permits from Israel," a Palestinian liaison official told Ma'an in March. 
 
Israel, he added, had recently started to issue entry permits to new Gaza traders while veteran businessmen were being denied entry.
 
Palestinians detained at Erez are often interrogated for several hours, sometimes even for days, before they are either allowed into Israel en route to the West Bank or sent back to Gaza.

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