The Palestine Prisoners Centre has revealed that Israel has arrested 17 Palestinians at the Eretz Crossing en route to the West Bank during the first half of the year.

Riyad Alashqar, the spokesperson of the Centre, said, “Five patients, including two injured, four merchants and two students have been arrested”.

الاحتلال اعتقل 17 مواطناً على معبر "إيرز" منذ بداية العام https://t.co/0fiWsXK5mX #معبر #معبر_إيرز #غزة #اعتقال #مركز_أسرى #فلسطين #حصار

— الهدف الاخبارية (@hadafnewsps) July 19, 2016

The head of a charitable organization has also been arrested, all of whom were transferred to the nearby Asakalan prison for interrogation.

Alashqar has called on the international community to intervene in preventing Gaza from being turned into a prison, and its crossings into places for arresting Palestinians, and to pressure the Israeli government to release those who were arrested at Eretz without a charge.

(PC, SAFA)