The lack of the freedom of movement is possibly the most manifest feature of the Israeli-imposed blockade in the Gaza Strip. The restrictions on the Palestinians freedom of movement are multi-faceted. For instance, as Israel continues to impose its hermetic blockade on Gaza, Palestinian fishermen are one such category of the civilian people in Gaza whose movement is extremely limited by the Israeli gunboats delineating the limited sea zone available to them. Moreover, Palestinian farmers and residents in the border area near the separation fence with Israel known as the Green Line is another such group.

More clearly manifest, though, is the blanket ban on travel by Palestinians to the West Bank via the Erez crossing. Only in rare cases and with such great difficulty are certain groups of Palestinians, namely medical patients, allowed to go beyond the Erez crossing into Israel or the West Bank.

The restriction on the Palestinians' right to freedom of movement is not exclusively Israeli-imposed however. The Hamas-led government in the Gaza Strip has imposed further restrictions on Palestinians willing to travel via the Erez crossing, and, has recently banned several Palestinians from travel via the Israeli checkpoint.

Most recently, on Sunday, May 12, members of the Hamas government's Internal Security services stationed at the Erez crossing have prevented two Palestinian human rights workers from travel to the West Bank. The two attorneys, Eyad al-Alami and Mohammed Bseiso, who work with the Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR) in Gaza were leaving for the West Bank to follow up on several legal cases which included, among other things, victims of Israeli attacks, Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails and referral of Palestinian patients to hospitals outside the Gaza Strip.