Gazan fishermen protesting against Israeli Navy attacks
2/4/2009
Today, dozens of fishermen from the Salateen area in Beit Lahiya in the far north of Gaza, staged a march towards the coast to protest against recent Israeli naval attacks. They were joined by the Director of the General Syndicate of Marine Fishers, Nizar Ayash, as well as Palestinian activists from the Beit Hanoun Local Initiative. The demonstration was supported by volunteers from the International Solidarity Movement (ISM), among them two that were abducted by the Israeli naval forces last November. The Israeli navy has intensely escalated its attacks against Gazan fishermen since the recent onslaught on the Gaza strip. In just the past three weeks at least two fishermen have been injured by gunfire, 16 have been abducted (some of them tortured and later released) and seven fishing boats have been stolen without return. Several other boats have also reportedly been damaged by Israeli gunfire. Most of the assaulted fishermen are from the Salateen area, some of whom now face bleak situations – in the wake of losing their homes during Israeli bombing raids they have now lost their sole means of income in a Gaza already greatly impoverished by the siege.
