Description

GAZA (Ma'an) -- Israeli forces on Tuesday detained a Palestinian man at the Erez crossing as he was attempting to leave the blockaded Gaza Strip to receive medical treatment in the occupied West Bank, his family said.

Relatives of Muhammad Kamel Rajab Abu Odeh, 34, said he had permission to travel to Ramallah to undergo surgery for his spinal stenosis.

However, they said the Israeli authorities did not allow him through and took him into custody instead.

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 into Israel en route to the West Bank or sent back to Gaza.