Mahmoud Sarsak was arrested on 22nd July 2009 by the Israeli Forces as he was travelling from Gaza to play football for his new professional club, Markaz Balata. Mahmoud, who was 22 years old at the time, was a member of the Palestinian national football team and had obtained permission to travel through Erez checkpoint and enter the West Bank.
He was imprisoned by Israeli authorities for more than 3 years without trial. He was released on 10 July 2012 after 90 days on hunger strike.