The Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) have continued its arbitrary detention policy against Palestinian civilians travelling via Erez crossing either patients, their escorts, or businessmen.
The IOF continued to summon some patients and their escort for interview.
During 2012, the number of detainees raised to six, including four patients and two escorts.
According to the documentation conducted by the Al Mezan Center for Human Rights, the IOF arrested 23 Palestinians since 2009 until now.
18 of them were patients, three patients’ escorts, and two businessmen.
In the same context, 258 Palestinians were interrogated by the Israeli intelligence agency at Erez crossing between January and September 2012.
     According to Al Mezan’s monitoring and documentation, at approximately 9:00 am on Wednesday 9 October 2012, IOF arrested Khalil Jebrel Ahmed An-Najjar, 44, as he was accompanying his sick brother.
In his affidavit to Al Mezan, Mohammed Khalil An-Najjar stated that his father accompanied his sick uncle to a Palestinian hospital in the West Bank.
The patient suffers pains in the pelvis.
The patient and his brother went to Erez crossing at 7:00 am and entered the crossing at 9:00 am.
Mohammed added that he was surprised when the Palestinian Liaison Office at Erez crossing phoned him and informed him that his father was arrested by IOF.
The Al Mezan Center for Human Rights expresses its forceful condemnation of the detention of An-Najjar, a medical patient.
  Al Mezan sees in this incident a continuation of Israel’s policy of extortion of Palestinian patients and exploitation of their medical suffering, in an abuse which makes clear the extent to which Israel exempts itself from its legal commitments under the rules of international humanitarian law (IHL), particularly the Fourth Geneva Convention.
Al Mezan also warns of Israeli’s escalation of this policy of extortion which violates IHL and International Human Rights Law.
Al Mezan calls on the international community to exert pressure on Israel to uphold its obligations, respect principles of international law in its dealing with civilians, ensure patient’s medical treatment, and respect the right to health and free movement and travel.
      Al Mezan reiterates its previous call on the international community to promptly intervene to end the Israeli arbitrary detention policy and to ensure the immediate release of Palestinian detainees, particularly administrative detainees.
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