Islamic Jihad Movement in Palestine
Sarsak was arrested on 22 July 2009 at the Erez Crossing, while travelling between his home in Gaza and the West Bank to link up with his new club Balata Youth in Balata. He was detained for allegedly being an unlawful combatant linked to the Islamic Jihad Movement in Palestine (PIJ). The Shin Bet general security service alleged that he had once planted a bomb that injured an Israeli soldier. The agency said it did not have sufficient evidence for a trial and Sarsak was held for three years without formal charges. In 2013 Sarsak said that during his imprisonment he had been regularly subjected to physical and mental torture.