Israeli naval forces and their gunboats maintain a presence around Gaza fishermen almost every day, harassing them, shooting at them, damaging their boats, and making arrests.
The Israeli navy opened fire on Palestinian fishermen in Khan Yunis and Rafah on Friday morning, in southern Gaza, the official Israeli news agency WAFA reported.
According to a Wafa correspondent, the Israeli naval forces chased after the fishing boats, firing shots, and releasing sewage water at them in the area they were permitted to fish. No injuries were reported.
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Israeli naval forces and their gunboats maintain a presence around Gaza fishermen almost every day, harassing them, shooting at them, damaging their boats, and making arrests.
Under the 1993 Oslo Accords, Palestinian fishermen are permitted to fish up to 20 nautical miles off the coast of Gaza, but Israel has unilaterally reduced the fishing zone gradually to a limit of between three to six nautical miles as part of its blockade on Gaza.
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Around 4,000 Palestinians work in Gaza’s fishing sector, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Agriculture. The profession has been deemed dangerous by rights organizations due to Israel’s harassment of fishermen at sea.
Israeli incursions on those fishermen in the waters of the besieged Gaza Strip are a common occurrence, with many Palestinian fishermen subject to Israeli live fire, attempts to sink or seize their boats, arrests and the narrowing of their fishing areas for long periods of time.
(MEMO, PC)
