On Tuesday 5 February 2013, Israeli Forces (IF) detained two brothers as they were on their way to Gaza after visiting their mother who lives in the West Bank.
They have not seen their mother for 15 years.
According to information collected by the Al Mezan Center for Human Rights, at approximately 11:00 am on Tuesday 6 February 2013, Israeli Forces (IF) arrested Rami and Mohammed Riyadh At-Taieb (32 and 23 respectively) at Erez crossing.
According to Al Mezan’s field investigations, the two detainees are from Jabaliya and they were visiting their mother who lives in the West Bank.
Mohammed suffers from epilepsy.
In his affidavit to Al Mezan, their father stated that his sons went to visit their mother who has been living in the West Bank for several years.
He phoned them at 10:45 am and they told him that they were at the Israeli side of the crossing.
He tried to reach them by phone again later but was unable to.
At approximately 6:30 pm on the same day, their mother phoned the civil administration office in the West Bank to ask about her sons.
At approximately 7:00 pm, the mother received a phone call from someone who introduced himself as from the Israeli army and informed her that her son Rami had been detained and asked her to hire a lawyer for him.
Her son Mohammed would be returning to Gaza.
At approximately 9:15 pm on the same day, Mohammed’s wife sent an SMS message to him.
She then received a phone call from Israeli forces informing her that Mohammed was detained and that she should also hire a lawyer for him.
She was allowed at that point to speak with her husband.
Al Mezan Center for Human Rights condemns the detention of the two brothers and views these arrests as a continuation of Israel’s policy of arbitrary detention of Palestinians; in many cases implemented on those who have been given permits to travel through the crossings.
Al Mezan views this incident as a continuation of Israel’s policy of extortion and exploitation of the crossing, particularly in light of the humanitarian concerns arising from the stifling blockade of the Gaza Strip.
Al Mezan would also highlight the particularly troubling aspect of arbitrary crossing detentions; that being the arrest of patients and their escorts who are traveling to hospitals in Israel and the West Bank.
Patients who are arrested and prohibited access to healthcare are in effect prohibited the realization of the right to health, as defined under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR).
In addition, Al Mezan condemns the widespread use of administration detention and calls for the international community to oblige Israel to respect its legal obligations under International Law.
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