The Israeli authorities have revoked "hundreds" of entry permits from Gaza to Israel, a senior official in the Palestinian liaison office told Ma'an on Monday.
The official, who spoke to Ma'an on condition of anonymity, said the permits had been revoked as Gazan permit holders arrived at the Erez crossing in the northern Gaza Strip.
The revocations first began three weeks ago, the official said, adding that the Israeli authorities had not given any explanation to the permit owners.
"When Israel delivers permits to Palestinians, they make announcements about it in media, but in reality a majority of permits are revoked later," the official said. They added that more than 300 permits had been revoked in the last three weeks.
Israel's Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) confirmed that a number of permits had been revoked recently, although they would not say how many.
"Due to a decision by security forces, several entrance permits for crossings into Israel from the Gaza Strip have been rescinded due to information indicating improper use of issued permits," COGAT told Ma'an.
"The aim of this move is to prevent further abuse of permits for malicious purposes."
The body said there were more than 1,000 crossings from Gaza into Israel via the Erez crossing every day, "for the purposes of business and trade, prayers at the Temple Mount, medical treatments, academic studies abroad, and more."
COGAT added that there were 186,184 entries from Gaza into Israel throughout 2015, although it did not specify how many people this extended to.
Palestinians detained at Erez are often interrogated for several hours, sometimes for days, before they are either allowed into Israel or sent back to Gaza.
Israel has revoked entry permits for Palestinians from the occupied West Bank and Gaza in the past, often during times of high tension.
The Gaza Strip has been under a crippling military blockade since Hamas took power there in 2007.
The UN has warned that unless current trends are altered, the coastal enclave could become uninhabitable for residents in just five years.
"The social, health and security-related ramifications of the high population density and overcrowding are among the factors that may render Gaza unlivable by 2020," the UN's development agency said last year.
