IOF seeking to empty the sea of Palestinian fishermen, PGFTU

PNN/ Gaza

Head of The Palestinian General Federation of Trade Unions, Sami Al-Umsi on Monday said that the Israeli occupation’s naval forces are seeking to empty the sea of Palestinian fishermen through the policy of daily ongoing attacks.

In a statement, Al-Umsi denounced Israeli naval forces opening heavy fire on fishermen boats off the Khan Younis shores southern Gaza strip, adding that the attacks have been escalating through the past months.

According to Al-Umsi, IOF have kidnapped over 60 Palestinian fishermen, three of them are still detained under charge of possessing Fiber glass material. IOF have also confiscated about 30 boats since the beginning of the ceasefire in August last year between the Israeli occupation authorities and the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) in Gaza.

Al-Umsi stressed that fishing and navigation is a legitimate right for all Palestinian fishermen, adding that the occupation’s crimes of damaging this profession should not pass.

Israeli forces shoot, injure child of fisherman in Gaza

Sept. 3, 2015 10:24 P.M. (Updated: Sept. 4, 2015 7:22 P.M.) 

 

Palestinian fishermen collect their catch off the coast of Gaza City on July 6, 2014. (AFP/Mahmud Hams, File)

 

GAZA CITY (Ma'an) -- Israeli forces shot and injured a Palestinian child near the shores of the Beit Lahiya village in the northern Gaza Strip, medics said.Medics told Ma'an that Bilal Abu Amro, 11, was shot in the thigh while he was with his father, a fisherman.He was taken to Kamal Adwan hospital for treatment. An Israeli army spokesperson told Ma'an they were unaware of the incident.Palestinian fishermen making a living off of the shores of the besieged Gaza Strip face daily risks, including routine harassment from Israeli naval forces, confiscation of boats and materials, detention, and potentially death.At least three Palestinian fishermen have been shot dead by Israeli forces since September.Israeli forces often allege that fishermen deviate from the designated fishing zone and pose a security threat.The exact limits of the zone set by Israeli authorities are often ambiguous, and authorities have not abided by the fishing zone agreed upon in last summer's ceasefire agreement, rights groups say.The attacks come despite Israeli promises at the end of last summer's ceasefire to ease restrictions on Palestinian access to both the sea and the border region near the "security buffer zone."On July 31, Mohammad Hamid al-Masri,17, was shot by Israeli forces and died instantly north of Beit Lahiya near the border fence.