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GAZA CITY (Ma'an) -- Israeli authorities detained a Palestinian merchant on Thursday at a border crossing in the Gaza Strip, the Palestinian liaison reported.

Sources at the Palestinian liaison said that Hani Habboub was detained when leaving the besieged Palestinian territory via the Erez crossing in the northern Gaza Strip.

Israeli authorities were not available to comment on the detention on Friday.

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 or sent back to Gaza.

In June, Israeli forces notably detained the head of humanitarian organization World Vision International’s office in the Gaza Strip,

Muhammad al-Halabi, at the Erez crossing, as well as a Palestinian man who was heading back to the besieged Palestinian territory after escorting his infant son to an Israeli hospital.