Fishing Under Fire

Israel releases 4 Gaza fishermen 'detained at sea'

2012-01-08T10:10:00.000-08:00

GAZA CITY (Ma'an) -- Israeli forces released four Palestinian fishermen early Sunday, after they were detained off the coast of the Gaza Strip a day earlier.

Israeli forces fired at their fishing boat off Rafah shores in southern Gaza, and forced the men to swim to an Israeli gunboat on Saturday morning, the Palestinian Center for Human Rights reported.

The men were released to Gaza at 3.30 a.m. on Sunday, but Israel kept their boat and fishing equipment in custody, president of the Palestinian association for fishing and marine sports Mahfouth al-Kbarity told Ma'an.

The Israeli army said in a statement that the boat had "entered waters that are off-limits for fishing within the Gaza Strip," and didn't respond to instructions to change course.

The vessel was taken to Israel's Ashdod port north of Gaza "where the individuals aboard underwent security inspection," the statement added.

Under Israel's maritime blockade, Palestinian fishers are forbidden from fishing more than three nautical miles from the coast.

During the Oslo accords negotiators had agreed on 20 nautical miles of fishing access along Gaza's coastline.

Noting that most Gaza residents were dependent on food aid, the International Red Cross said in July that Gaza's fishing industry had almost disappeared due to Israeli restrictions.

In early December, the Al-Mezan Center for Human Rights said Israel has detained 40 fishermen, injured five others and seized nine boats since the start of 2011.

In one Week, IOF Arrests 7 Fishermen, PCHR Condemns the Continued Israeli Violations Against Palestinian Fishermen in the Gaza Strip

2012-01-08T10:07:00.000-08:00

PCHR

Sunday, 08 January 2012 14:00

Ref: 01/2012

The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) condemns thecontinued Israeli violations against the Palestinian fishermen in the GazaStrip and is strongly concerned over the escalation of such violations. The violations resulted in the arrest ofseven fishermen in two separate incidents, confiscation of two fishing boats,subjecting the fishermen to questioning and cruel and degrading treatment inaddition to preventing them from sailing and fishing freely.

According to investigations conducted by PCHR, at approximately10:00 on Saturday, 07 January 2012, the Israeli Navy Forces arrested fourfishermen off the Rafah shore while they were practicing their work. The Israeli soldiers fired at the fishingboat and forced the fishermen to stop, take their clothes off and swim towardsthe Israeli gunboat while the weather was very cold. The Israeli soldiers took the four fishermen toAshdod seaport to be questioned, after the were blindfolded and handcuffed. At approximately 00:30 on Sunday, 08 January2012, the fishermen were released and taken to Beit Hanoun (Erez)crossing. The four fishermen are: 1)Rani Sami Baker, 29; 2) Tal'at Othman Baker, 46; 3) Jad Othman Baker, 35; and4) Mahmoud Yahya Baker, 26, all from Gaza City.

At approximately 13:47 on Thursday, 29 December 2011, the IsraeliNavy Forces intercepted a fishing boat with three fishermen on board, includingtwo brothers, who were fishing off the Khan Yunis shore. The Israeli soldiers arrested the threefishermen after they ordered them to take their clothes off, jump into thewater and swim towards the Israeli gunboat. The fishermen were handcuffed andblindfolded with bags over their heads, while their boat was confiscated by theIsraeli Navy Forces. The fishermen are:1) Nabeel Ahmed al-Henawwi, 34; 2) Mahmoud Ahmed al-Henawwi, 43; and 3) MontherMosa Sehweil, 38, all from Khan Yunis.

In his testimony to PCHR, Nabeel Ahmed Mahmoud al-Henawwi, 34, fromKhan Yunis, said that he and the two other fishermen had stayed naked for 20minutes in the water. They wereshivering because of the extreme cold. He added that the Israeli Navy Forces transported them to the Israelishores and subjected them to questioning while they were handcuffed andblindfolded. The two al-Henawwi brotherswere released, but the third fisherman was transferred to Ashkelon prison.

It should be noted that the Israeli Navy has imposed restrictionson fishermen at sea, including denying them the right to sail and fish since2000. The Israeli Navy also minimized the area allowed for fishing in Gaza watersfrom 20 to 6 nautical miles in 2008; however, the Israeli naval troops keeppreventing Palestinian fishermen from going beyond three nautical miles in Gazawaters since 2009, and sometimes chase them in this area as well. As a result,Palestinian fishermen are denied access to areas beyond the three miles, due towhich they have lost 85% of their subsistence.

In light of the above, PCHR condemns the recurrence of such attacksagainst the Palestinian fishermen, and believes that they are part of theescalation of collective punishment against civilians. Besides, they have been carried out in thecontext of attacking civilians in their livelihood, which is prohibited underthe international humanitarian law and international human rights law. PCHR calls upon the Israeli Navy to:

1. Immediatelystop the policy of chasing and arresting Palestinian fishermen and to allowthem to sail and fish freely;

2. Callsfor reparations to the victims for the physical and material damages caused tofishermen and their property; and

3. Immediatelyreturn the confiscated fishing boats to their owners and to compensate them forthe material damage and psychological effects.

Israeli gunboats 'fire at fishermen'

2012-01-04T01:50:00.000-08:00

Palestinians stand at Gaza City's fishing port. (MaanImages/Wissam Nassar)

GAZA CITY (Ma'an) -- Israeli gunboats on Wednesday opened fire at fishermen off the coast of southern Gaza, witnesses said.

No injuries were reported.

An Israel army spokeswoman was not familiar with the incident.

[...]

PCHR Condemns Israeli Attack on Oliva Boat at Gaza Seashore

2011-12-29T23:46:00.000-08:00

PCHR

Thursday, 29 December 2011 00:00

Ref: 146/2011

On Wednesday, 29 December 2011, the Israeli navy attacked the Oliva Boat, which monitors thesituation at Gaza seashore, and Palestinian fishing boats who were fishing inthe sea.

According to Mr. Mahfouzal-Kabariti, Chairman of the Palestinian Association for Fishing and MarineSports, at 11:00 on Wednesday, 28 December 2011, an Israeli gunboat got closeto Palestinian fishing boats and the Oliva Boat, while they were approximatelytwo nautical miles off the seashore, as the Israeli navy allow Palestinianfishing within a distance of 3 nautical miles from the seashore. Al-Kabariti stated that the Oliva wasmonitoring Israeli attacks against Palestinian fishermen at the Gazaseashore. An Israeli gunboat got closeto it and attacked 6 times. The Israelinaval troops ordered two Italian solidarity activists and the captain who wereon board of the boat to sail back, claiming that the boat sailed beyond the 3-nauticalmile distance, while the boat’s GPS measured the distance at two nautical milesonly. The captain was providing the boatwith fuel when the Israeli navy attacked the boat. The Israeli navy used water hoses against theboat, which almost made it capsize. AnItalian solidarity activist, Rosa Schiano, who was on board of Oliva, statedthat she called in vain to the Israeli naval troops to stop attempting to turnthe boat over. As a result of theattack, Oliva’s captain, Mushtaq Zaidan, from Gaza City, fell and injured hisleg. Palestinian fishermen in the areawere able to help him, and to pull the Oliva back to the shore.

It is worth noting that Oliva started its workon 20 April 2011 under the umbrella of the Spanish Civil Peace Service. Itcarried out the first monitoring mission in the Gaza Strip on 8 June 2011. The project is aimed at monitoring anddocumenting Israeli attacks against Palestinian fishermen while fishing, whichconstitute a violation of international law and amount to possible war crimes. PCHR, the Palestinian Association for Fishingand Marine Sports, the Union of Agricultural Work Committees, and theCoordination Committee of Popular Resistance participate in the project, whichis sponsored by dozens of local and international organizations. The monitoringteam includes international solidarity activists from Italy, Sweden, USA andthe UK.

PCHR condemns the continuous attacks by theIsraeli Navy against Palestinian fishing boats, and the attack against the Oliva,which monitors the human rights situation in Gaza’s seawaters. PCHR calls uponthe international community:

1. To intervene to stop Israeliviolations of international humanitarian law, particularly the Fourth GenevaConvention of 1949, including measures aimed at preventing the work ofPalestinian fishermen;

2. To act to stop the Israeli Navy’sattacks against the Oliva boat, which carries out a peaceful civil mission andaims– with entirely legal tools – to ensure the Palestinian fishermen thepossibility of working in safe conditions;

3. To force Israel to immediatelylift the illegal closure imposed on the Gaza Strip, including the navalblockade restricting fishing to 3 nautical miles from the seashore, and to allowPalestinian fishermen to work freely.

Israeli navy attacks international observers, injures Palestinian, on monitoring boat in Gaza waters

2011-12-29T04:49:00.000-08:00

CPSGaza

28 December 2011

For Immediate Release

At 10:55 am, an Israeli naval warship attacked the international observers and Palestinian captain of the Civil Peace Service Gaza (CPSGAZA) boat Oliva, injuring its captain in an apparent attempt to capsize it.

The two international observers, both Italian citizens, are available for media questions or interviews.

"The Israeli navy passed near us and the fishermen, and started to go around us, creating waves," said Rosa Schiano, one of the international observers. "The fishermen escaped, but we couldn't because of a problem with our engine. We couldn't move, and they went around us very quickly. The Israelis saw that we couldn't move, and that the captain was trying to fix the engine, but they didn't stop. We told them, 'Please stop! Please stop!' But they didn't."

When the warship was two meters away from the Oliva, one of the waves it had created nearly capsized the small boat, filling it with water and causing the Palestinian captain to fall out, injuring his left leg.

"Their intentions were to do something very bad," said international observer Daniela Riva. "Coming so close to us was very dangerous, and they obviously knew that."

After more than twenty minutes, the warship retreated, and the Oliva was rescued by a small Palestinian fishing boat, or hasaka, which threw it a line and towed it toward the shore.

Photos are available for free use with attribution to Rosa Schiano, Civil Peace Service Gaza (CPSGAZA): http://bit.ly/CPSGAZAphotos. Additional photos and video will be available upon request: email press@cpsgaza.org.

The incident followed similar attacks on the Oliva during previous missions. Video footage is available: http://bit.ly/CPSGAZAvideos.

Background

Restrictions on the fishing zone are of considerable significance to Palestinian livelihood. Initially 20 nautical miles, it is presently often enforced between 1.5 - 2 nautical miles (PCHR: 2010). The marine 'buffer zone' restricts Gazan fishermen from accessing 85% of Gaza's fishing waters agreed to by Oslo.

During the Oslo Accords, specifically under the Gaza-Jericho Agreement of 1994, representatives of Palestine agreed to 20 nautical miles for fishing access. In 2002 the UN Secretary General Kofi Annan empowered Catherine Bertini to negotiate with Israel on key issues regarding the humanitarian crisis in the Occupied Palestinian Territories and a 12 nautical mile fishing limit was agreed upon. In June 2006, following the capture of the Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit near the crossing of Kerem Abu Salem (Kerem Shalom), the navy imposed a complete sea blockade for several months. When the complete blockade was finally lifted, Palestinian fishermen found that a 6 nautical mile limit was being enforced. When Hamas gained political control of the Gaza Strip, the limit was reduced to 3 nautical miles. During the massive assault on the Strip in 2008-2009, a complete blockade was again declared. After Operation Cast Lead, the Israeli army began imposing a 1.5 - 2 nautical miles (PCHR: 2010).

The fishing community is often similarly targeted as the farmers in the 'buffer zone' and the fishing limit is enforced with comparable aggression, with boats shot at or rammed as near as 2nm to the Gazan coast by Israeli gunboats.

The fishermen have been devastated, directly affecting an estimated 65,000 people and reducing the catch by 90%. The coastal areas are now grossly over-fished and 2/3 of fishermen have left the industry since 2000 (PCHR: 2009). Recent statistics of the General Union of Fishing Workers indicate that the direct losses since the second Intifada in September 2000 were estimated at a million dollars and the indirect losses were estimated at 13.25 million dollars during the same period. The 2009 fishing catch amounted to a total of 1,525 metric tones, only 53 percent of the amount during 2008 (2,845 metric tones) and 41 percent of the amount in 1999 (3,650 metric tones), when the fishermen of Gaza could still fish up to ten nautical miles from the coast. Current figures indicate that during 2010 the decline in the fishing catch continues. This has caused an absurd arrangement to become standard practice. The fisherman sail out not to fish, but to buy fish off of Egyptian boats and then sell this fish in Gaza. According to the Fishermen's Union, a monthly average of 105 tons of fish has been entering Gaza through the tunnels since the beginning of 2010 (PCHR 2009).

Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR). "The Buffer Zone in the Gaza Strip." Oct. 2010.

Palestinian Centre for Human Rights. "A report on: Israeli Attacks on Palestinian Fishers in the Gaza Strip." August 2009.

CPSGaza Report - 22 December 2011

2011-12-23T23:50:00.000-08:00

CPSGaza

22 December 2011 The Oliva left Gaza Seaport at 8:25am with on board his Palestinian captain and two international observers from CPS Gaza.

At 8:50 am, at about 2 nautical miles from the coast (31° 35.12N / 034° 26.22E), Oliva’s crew sighted an Israelis navy vessel which was close to 6 hasakas and heard shooting. The hasakas were observed while getting away from the Israeli navy vessel and moving towards Oliva. The fishermen informed Oliva’s crew that an Israeli navy vessel opened fire at their boats at 5.30 am.

At 9:05, from the same position, Oliva observed the Israeli navy reaching again the fishermen, continuing shooting in the water and telling them to go back home. Oliva reached the point where fishermen were harassed, located at about 2.1 nautical miles from the coast and within the limit of the northern ‘closed area’ (31° 35.17N / 034° 26.14E).

At 9:25 am Oliva reached the float delimitating the 3 nautical miles (31° 35.62N / 034° 25.03E).

At 9:40, when Oliva was at 2.9 nautical miles offshore (31° 35.21N / 034° 25.07E), the Israeli navy vessel moved at high rate of speed towards Oliva which hanged back. The same happened at 9:53 am and then at 10:12 am, when Oliva was at 2.85 nautical miles offshore (31° 34.97N / 034° 24.92E).

At 10:23 Oliva kept observing the Israeli navy vessel from a distance of about 200m and at 10:50 returned to the port of Gaza.

Background:

Israel has been regularly attacking Palestinian fishermen within the purported 3 nautical mile fishing limit. The livelihood of many Gazans relies on fishing and Israel has been using live ammunition and water cannons to prevent fishermen from doing their work.

The Israeli Siege continues after more than 4 years, limiting the sea area available for the Gaza population. This area was supposed to be 20 miles according to the Jericho agreements from 1994 (under the Oslo accords), then it was reduced to 12 miles, to 6 miles and now to 3 miles since December 2008.

The Civil Peace Services continue monitoring potential human rights violations at the sea in front of the Gaza Strip.

Israeli navy harasses Palestinian fishermen off Gaza coast

2011-12-23T09:23:00.001-08:00

Posted on ISM webpage on: December 21, 2011

by Rosa Schiano

21 December 2011 | Civil Peace Service Gaza

Photo: Rosa Schiano, Civil Peace Service Gaza - Click here for more images

The Oliva sailed from Gaza Seaport at 8:15 am. The Palestinian captain and two international observers from CPS staff were on board at 8:45 am Oliva reached four hasakas in the north of the Strip, about 2.2 nautical miles off shore (31° 35.40N / 034° 26.29E).
At 9:20 am the crew sighted an Israelis navy vessel moving toward the four hasakas and Oliva at a high rate of speed. The four hasakas and Oliva started to move toward the coast. The Israeli navy vessel continued to run after the hasakas and Oliva reaching 1.5 nautical miles off shore (31° 34.68N / 034° 26.49E) and then hanging back.
At 10:20 am the same Israeli navy vessels approached the four hasakas which were within the area marked by the float located about 2 miles off shore on the northern limit imposed on Palestinian fishing area (31° 35.41N / 034° 26.57E), continuing harassing them and shooting several times in the water.
At 11:00 am the Israeli navy vessels hanged back and Oliva returned to the port of Gaza.

Background:

Restrictions on the fishing zone are of comparable significance to Palestinian livelihood. This area was supposed to be 20 miles according to the Jericho agreements from 1994 (under the Oslo accords), then it was reduced to 12 miles, to 6 miles and now to 3 miles since January 2009. The marine ‘buffer zone’ restricts Gazan fishermen from accessing 85% of Gaza’s fishing waters agreed to by Oslo.
Israel has been regularly attacking Palestinian fishermen within the purported 3 nautical mile fishing limit. The livelihood of many Gazans relies on fishing and Israel has been using live ammunition and water cannons to prevent fishermen from doing their work.
The Israeli Siege continues after more than 4 years, limiting the sea area available for the Gaza population.
The Civil Peace Services continue monitoring potential human rights violations at the sea in front of the Gaza Strip.

Updated on December 22, 2011

PCHR weekly report 15/12 - 21/12/2011: 1 fisherman injured, 4 fishermen abducted including 1 child, 1 boat stolen

2011-12-23T06:01:00.000-08:00

extracts from PCHR weekly report 15/12 - 21/12/2011:

IOF continued to attack Palestinian fishermen in the Gaza Strip.

A Palestinian fisherman was wounded by Israeli gunfire.

IOF arrested 4 Palestinian fishermen and confiscated a fishing boat.

Friday, 16 December 2011

At approximately 10:45, Israeli gunboats opened fire at a Palestinian fishing boat that was sailing opposite to al-Sudaniya beach in the northern Gaza Strip. As a result, a fisherman, Zaki Mustafa Froush, 45, from the northern Gaza Strip town of Jabalya, was wounded by a bullet to the left hand and shrapnel to the left leg. Frosuh was together with his son fishing nearly two nautical miles from the seashore.

Saturday, 17 December 2011

At approximately 21:30, Israeli gunboats opened fire at Palestinian fishing boats opposite to Beit Lahia seashore in the northern Gaza Strip. Palestinian fishermen were forced to sail back to the beach and no casualties were reported.

Sunday, 18 December 2011

At approximately 08:00, Israeli gunboats opened fire at Palestinian fishing boats opposite to al-Shati refugee camp seashore in the west of Gaza City. As a result, a boat belonging to Mahmoud Mustafa Murad was damaged. Israeli gunboats chased two boats and arrested 4 Palestinian fishermen: Hassan ‘Ali Murad, 25; Mahmoud Mustafa Murad, 27; Emad Mahmoud Siam, 46; and Anas ‘Emad Siam, 16. IOF released three of the fishermen at approximately 23:00, while transferred the fourth one, Mahmoud Murad, to an Israeli hospital as he suffers from renal failure.

Monday, 19 December 2011

At approximately 09:00, Israeli gunboats stationed opposite to Beit Lahia seashore in the northern Gaza Strip opened fire at Palestinian fishing boats. Palestinian fishermen were forced to sail back to the beach and no casualties were reported.

Tuesday, 20 December 2011

At approximately 08:00, Israeli gunboats stationed opposite to Beit Lahia seashore in the northern Gaza Strip opened fire at Palestinian fishing boats. Palestinian fishermen were forced to sail back to the beach and no casualties were reported.

IOF Opens Fire and Pursues Palestinian Fishermen off North Gaza Coast

2011-12-20T07:09:00.000-08:00

20-12-2011

Al Mezan

At approximately 9:00 am on Tuesday 20 December 2011, Israeli gunboats opened fire on Palestinian fishing boats which were in the waters off the coast north of Al Waha resort, in the As-Sudaniya area, in the west of Beit Lahiya, North Gaza district. No casualties or injuries were reported. The firing lasted for about 30 minutes, during which the Israeli boats pursued the fishermen, forcing them to leave the area. This pattern of intimidation was repeated several times, with the Israeli boats opening fire on the fishermen each time they reached an area about 2000 meters away from the northern separation fence between the Gaza Strip and Israel.

Israeli Gunboats Open Fire on Palestinian Fishing Boats in North Gaza District

2011-12-19T07:30:00.000-08:00

19-12-2011

Al Mezan

At approximately 8:00 am on Monday 19 December 2011, Israeli gunboats opened fire on Palestinian fishing boats which were in the waters off the coast north of Al Waha resort, in the As-Sudaniya area, in the west of Beit Lahiya, North Gaza district. No casualties or injuries were reported.

PCHR Condemns Placing Large Floats 3 Miles from Gaza Seashore to Tighten the Siege Imposed on the Gaza Strip

2011-12-19T05:17:00.000-08:00

PCHR

Thursday, 15 December 2011 12:50

Ref: 142/2011

Zoom In

The Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR) condemns the placing of large floats by Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) 3 miles from the Gaza Strip seashore, beyond which Palestinian fishermen are banned from sailing. This measure serves to institutionalize the siege imposed on the Gaza Strip, and enhances IOF’s control over the Gaza Strip’s regional water. PCHR warns that this measure will lead to more attacks by IOF against Palestinian fishermen, depriving them of their means of subsistence, under the pretest of sailing beyond the sea floats.

PCHR has obtained affidavits from a number of Palestinian fishermen in the Gaza Strip, in which they expressed concerns that such Israeli measures would tighten the closure imposed on the Gaza Strip and restrict their work by limiting the permissible fishing area to only 3 nautical miles.

According to Mr. Mohammed Subhi al-Hissi, Head of the Union of Fishermen in Gaza City, the Israeli naval forces started to place large floats to serve as border signs, above which are lights and devices believed to be photographing and monitoring devices, at a distance of 3 nautical miles from the Gaza Strip seashore. The Israeli naval forces warned Palestinian fishermen through leaflets not to sail beyond such border signs, otherwise, they would be subject to shooting, detention and confiscation of fishing tools. Al-Hissi warned of the repercussions of this measure on the fishing industry in the Gaza Strip, which is the sole source of income for hundreds of fishermen and their families.

It should be noted that IOF have imposed a long term closure on the Gaza Strip since 1991, under which they have deprived Palestinian fishermen their right to fish Gaza’s waters. They also decreased the permissible fishing area in the Gaza Strip’s seawater from 20 nautical miles, as agreed under the Palestinian-Israeli Oslo Accords,[1] to 6 nautical miles in 2008, and to 3 nautical miles in 2009. During the Israeli offensive on the Gaza Strip in the period 27 December 2008 – 18 January 2009, IOF imposed a total closure on the Gaza Strip, completely preventing Palestinian fishermen from fishing. Following the offensive, IOF imposed a partial closure on the Gaza Strip preventing Palestinian fishermen from fishing beyond a distance of 3 nautical miles.

In light of the above:

1. PCHR condemns placing such large floats 3 miles from the Gaza Strip’s seashore, banning Palestinian fishermen from fishing beyond them.

2. PCHR calls upon the international community to exert pressure on IOF to open the fishing area up to 20 nautical miles.

3. PCHR condemns attacks by IOF against Palestinian fishermen, and believed that such attacks are part of the collective punishment measures against the Palestinian civilian population, including denying them of their means of subsistence, which is prohibited under the international humanitarian law and human rights law.

[1] Under the Oslo Accords, the Gaza Strip’s seashore, which is 42 kilometers long, was divided into area known as K, M and L. Area K extends up to 20 nautical miles in North Gaza and expands by 1.5 nautical mile in the south; Area M extends up to 20 miles in the south of Gaza City and expands by one nautical mile near the border with Egypt; and Area L extends up to 20 nautical miles from the beach

Israel detains 2 fishermen off Gaza coast

2011-12-18T08:48:00.000-08:00

GAZA CITY (Ma'an) -- Israeli forces detained two Palestinians fishing off the Gaza coast on Sunday, before confiscating their equipment, officials and the Israeli army said.

President of the Fishing and Marine Sports Authority in Gaza Mahfouz al-Kabareteh said naval officers seized the fishermen and their oars while they were working within the three-mile limit imposed by Israel.

An Israeli army spokesman said that two fishing boats had deviated from the designated fishing area. After failing to respond to warnings to return, soldiers fired shots at both engines.

Both fishermen were taken into custody and their equipment seized.

Israel has cracked down on fishermen in the Gaza Strip in 2011, according to a report released by Al-Mezan Center for Human Rights.

Israel detained 40 fishermen, injured five others and seized nine boats between January and December, the human rights group said on Oct. 31.

Gaza's fishing industry has collapsed since Israel tightened its land and maritime blockade on the coastal strip in 2007.

Israeli navy detains Palestinian fishermen off Gaza coast

[ 18/12/2011 - 03:43 PM ]

GAZA, (PIC)-- Israeli navy gunboats intercepted a Palestinian fishing boat off the northwestern coast of Gaza city on Sunday and arrested two fishermen.
Sources in the fishermen syndicates told the PIC reporter that the Israeli navy elements took the Palestinian boat and two fishermen on board while fishing in regional waters.

Israeli navy patrols have recently intensified their chase of Palestinian fishermen despite working within the three nautical miles limit determined by this navy.

Israeli Gunboats Open Fire on Palestinian Fishing Boats off North Gaza Coast

2011-12-17T22:33:00.000-08:00

17-12-2011

Al Mezan

At approximately 9:15 pm on Saturday 17 December 2011, Israeli gunboats fired several shells at Palestinian fishing boats which were in the waters off the coastline of the As-Sudaniya area, in the west of Beit Lahiya, North Gaza district. No casualties or injuries were reported.

Israeli navy fire injures Gaza fisherman

2011-12-16T08:42:00.000-08:00

GAZA CITY (Ma'an) -- Israeli naval ships opened fire on a Palestinian fishing boat off the Gaza coast on Friday, injuring a 45-year-old fisherman, medics said.

Gaza medical official Adham Abu Salmiya said the man was taken to Shifa hospital in Gaza City with moderate injuries to his legs.

An Israeli army spokeswoman said the fishing boat "deviated from the designated fishing area and the navy called on it to stop, but when it did not respond they fired warning shots at the boat engine."

In early December, the Al-Mezan Center for Human Rights said Israel has detained 40 fishermen, injured five others and seized nine boats since the start of the year.

Under Israel's maritime blockade, Palestinian fishers are forbidden from fishing more than three nautical miles from the coast.

During the Oslo accords negotiators had agreed on 20 nautical miles of fishing access along Gaza's coastline.

Noting that most Gaza residents were dependent on food aid, the International Red Cross said in July that Gaza's fishing industry had almost disappeared due to Israeli restrictions.

In a separate incident Friday, Israeli artillery fire struck near the eastern cemetery in the Shjaiya neighborhood, onlookers said.

There were no reports of injury or damage in that incident.

------
16-12-2011

Al Mezan

Israeli Gunboats Open Fire at Palestinian Fishermen in Gaza; One Fisherman Injured

At approximately 11:00 am on Friday 16 December 2011, Israeli naval vessels patrolling the Gaza sea opened fire on a Palestinian fishing boat about 1.5 miles off the coast west of Gaza City, opposite the Ash-Shati’ refugee camp. The Israeli forces targeted Zaki Tarroush, 45, from Beit Lahiya, who sustained two bullet wounds in the right hand and leg. He was admitted to Shifa Hospital.

IOF Opens Fire at Palestinian Fishermen in North Gaza District

2011-12-14T07:41:00.000-08:00

14-12-2011

Al Mezan

At approximately 6:15 am on Wednesday 14 December 2011, Israeli naval vessels patrolling the Gaza sea opened fire on Palestinian fishing boats off the coast north of Al Waha resort, in the As-Sudaniya area, west Beit Lahiya, North Gaza district. No casualties or injuries were reported.

IOF Opens Fire at Palestinian Fishermen in North Gaza District

2011-12-13T07:49:00.000-08:00

13-12-2011

Al Mezan

At approximately 6:30 am on Tuesday 13 December 2011, Israeli naval vessels patrolling the Gaza sea opened fire on Palestinian fishing boats off the coast north of Al Waha resort, in the As-Sudaniya area, west Beit Lahiya, North Gaza district. No casualties or injuries were reported.

PCHR weekly report 1/12 - 7/12/2011: attacks opposite Beit Lahia and Rafah

2011-12-08T06:28:00.000-08:00

extracts from PCHR weekly report 1/12 - 7/12/2011:

The Israeli Navy has continued to attack Palestinian fishermen in the Gaza Strip.

Friday, 02 December 2011

At approximately 06:30, Israeli gunboats stationed opposite to Beit Lahia beach in the northern Gaza Strip opened fire at Palestinian fishing boats. Palestinian fishermen were forced to sail back to the beach and no casualties were reported.

Saturday, 03 December 2011

At approximately 18:30, Israeli gunboats stationed opposite to Beit Lahia beach in the northern Gaza Strip opened fire at Palestinian fishing boats. Palestinian fishermen were forced to sail back to the beach and no casualties were reported.

Also at approximately 18:30, Israeli gunboats stationed opposite to Rafah beach in the southern Gaza Strip opened fire at Palestinian fishing boats. Palestinian fishermen were forced to sail back to the beach and no casualties were reported.

IOF Demarcate Gaza Marine Borders with Illuminated Buoys

2011-12-05T10:07:00.000-08:00

5-12-2011

Al Mezan

At approximately 16:00 on Monday, 5 December 2011, Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) put illuminated buoys in the Gaza Sea.

According to the Fisherman's Syndicate, the IOF put the buoys along the Gaza Sea every four kilometers, about three nautical miles away from the Gaza’s coast. The signs form a line demarcating a no-go zone for Palestinian fishermen.

Israeli navy harasses Palestinian fishermen, international observers off Gaza coast

2011-12-04T21:10:00.000-08:00

Posted on ISM webpage : December 4, 2011

3 December 2011 | Civil Peace Service Gaza
On Saturday, 3 December 2011, the Israeli navy harassed Palestinian fishermen and international observers three miles off the coast of Gaza.

Israeli military harassing on the high seas - Click here for more images

Between 10:00 and 11:00 am, two warships repeatedly charged a group of seven hasakas, one trawler, and the Civil Peace Service Gaza boat Oliva.

A day with fugitives in Gaza’s fishing waters

2011-12-04T14:51:00.000-08:00

Posted on December 2, 2011 on Second Glance

Abu Mahmoud sharing his experiences of 40 years as a fisherman

It’s 6.30am when Ahmad’s fishing boat leaves the Gaza City fishing port. Together with his three nephews and a friend, he will stay at sea for 48 hours, trying to catch as many fish as possible within the Israeli-imposed 3 nautical-mile limit.[1] Ahmad (Abu Mahmoud) Sha’ban al-Hissi turned 60 a week ago and has been working as a fisherman since he was 18 years old. As we look back and see how Gaza City becomes smaller and smaller, Ahmad speaks about the hardship he has faced in his four decades as a fisherman: “The sea is like a prison. We can’t move here freely. Our entire lives have become like prisons.”

Keeping an eye out for Israeli naval occupation forces around

“Later, you will see the soldiers shoot at the fishermen”, adds Subeh, the captain of the boat. Subeh estimates that at 10 o’clock we would witness soldiers shooting at fishing boats from their navy vessels. Subeh is constantly checking the radio and horizon for signs of approaching navy vessels. As we come nearer to the area where the navy vessels patrol, packs of cigarettes and chewing gum are being consumed at a higher speed. The men chew and smoke through all of the stress and anxiety they feel. “The fear is always with us when we are at sea,” says Subeh. “Our lives are in danger at sea.”.
Even within the three-mile limit, fishermen are regularly harassed, assaulted, arrested, and sometimes even killed. Since the beginning of this year, 32 fishermen were arrested and 5 were injured, while at least 20 boats were confiscated. Late last December, Ahmad, Subeh, Fayez, Yassin and 2 others were arrested from the sea by the Israeli navy at night. They men were treated roughly and taken to a detention facility in Israel. The following morning they were transported to the Gaza Strip. However, their boat remained confiscated for nearly 100 days, making their financial situation even worse than it already was.

Repairing fishing nets with navy chasing the boat

While the men describe their memories of the arrest, we are around 2 nautical miles off the shore. An Israeli gunboat starts to follow us from behind as we are heading south. After a while, the vessel goes away again. Soon after another navy vessel takes over; it seems we have entered another military zone. All the men keep their eyes locked on the navigation equipment and the horizon, checking where the Israeli navy vessels are and in which direction they’re moving. Subeh focuses at least as much attention on Israeli naval boats in the area as he does on the sonar which can detect fish and objects under water.

On the look out for Israeli navy boats

When we are nearly 3 nautical miles off the coast, an Israeli gunboat in the vicinity starts firing warning shots in the air and sounds a sirene. We see how it also chases small fishing boats, with its waves almost capsizing one of the tiny vessels. Alarming and panicked messages come in through the radio from those fishermen. As we watch the different army vessels chase, harass, and threaten fishermen in the entire area, Ahmad and Subeh explain the different types of weaponry and soldiers each boat has on board. Apparently the one chasing us is a gunboat with snipers on board, the type of boat from which they say snipers have shot fishermen before. This job these fishermen are doing can hardly be called fishing. Gaza’s fishermen have become like fugitives in their own territorial waters.

Israeli gunboat intimidating the fishermen

I genuinely wonder what, if at all, the soldiers on top of the army vessels are thinking. What do they see when they look at the fishermen? Do they see threats or military targets? In any case, the soldiers look like ridiculous clowns in their military gear on their big steel vessels, chasing the fishermen on tiny boats.
Beyond human insecurity and fear, there is the crippling financial impact of the naval blockade.[2] Ahmad recalls that before this limitation in 2007, he “could earn 100 to 200 NIS[3] per day as a fisherman. Now we can each only earn around 50 NIS in two days at sea.” According to the Fisherman’s Syndicate, around 60% of the small fishing boats and 22% of trawler boats in the Gaza Strip are not used because of the high risks involved and the limited catch.

Sorting the poor catch

After two hours at sea the first catch gets hauled onto the boat; different types of fish, crabs, and and a lost octopus wriggle and squirm atop the deck. Ahmed, Yassin, and Fayez stare at the catch in disappointment. Knowing the answer I still ask them if this is a good catch. They all shake their head. “This is useless,” says Fayez. Him and the others kneel down to start sorting the catch. The Gaza waters are clearly overfished within the three nautical miles but no fisherman in the Gaza Strip has the option go beyond.

Preparing a fresh meal on top of the motor

While the soldiers on the nearby army vessels are still busy doing what they believe is a military job, Yassin cheerily starts to grill some fish on top of the hot engine. After flipping the fish over a few times he generously puts several roasting hot fish on a piece of bread and squeezes out a lemon over it. “Sahteen!” he says with a big smile as he hands me the most special meal I have eaten in a while. A moment of true happiness within a situation of absurdity and infuriating madness.

Even though my country, the Netherlands, has a rich heritage and culture of fishing, I have never paid real attention to it, let alone joined fishermen on their boat at 6.30 in the morning. Looking at the fishermen as they repaired the nets, rinsed the catch, sorted the fish, baked calamari on the engine, and joked over a cup of coffee, I felt mesmerized the entire day by the beauty of their profession.

Passing a beautiful fishing boat

Once again my perception of the Gaza Strip comes together in one word. Extremes:
Fishermen quietly catching some fish within a dangerous militarized sea;
Small fishing boats being chased and rocked by large navy vessels;
And the beautiful sight of dolphins jumping from the water while soldiers shoot bullets through the air.
I try to imagine this happening to Dutch fishermen off the western shore of the Netherlands, but I can’t. Nothing about this situation seems logically acceptable for my brain to take in. The passive and active violence practiced by the Israeli occupation has no rational explanation. Ahmad tells how the Israeli policies towards the Gaza Strip became harsher, also at sea, when soldier Gilad Shalit was captured and says that “now they have Shalit back, so they must open the sea.” It seems that he has internalized his fate of being the target of collective punishment as logic: one Israeli soldier is captured, 1.7 million civilians in the Gaza Strip will be punished. Only it never seems to work the other way around; 1 soldier released, 1,7 million people getting their rights and dignity.

[1] For the past two decades Israel has gradually shrunk Gaza’s fishing waters through increasing access restrictions, imposed as a result of the Oslo agreement and in more recent years through the illegally and unilaterally imposed 3-nautical mile limit.

[2] Gaza’s economy is already crippled by the severe import restrictions and ban on exports. The fishing sector –with 8,200 fishermen and workers providing for 50,000 dependents- is one of the few from which Palestinians in the Gaza Strip would be able to make a living, if it wasn’t for the 3 nautical miles limit. By 2010 the fishing catch had decreased by 37% compared to 2008 and this amounted to only half of the 1999 fishing catch.

[3] 100 NIS is the equivalent of approximately $26.

PCHR Condemns Escalation in Arrest of Palestinian Fishermen in the Gaza Strip

2011-12-04T11:09:00.000-08:00

PCHR

Thursday, 01 December 2011 11:45

Ref: 121/2011

The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) strongly condemns the Israeli Navy's escalation in arrests of Palestinian fishermen in the Gaza Strip.

Over the past week, Israeli Naval forces arrested 14 fishermen off the coast of the Gaza Strip. These arrests represent a continuation of the sharp increase in the arrest of Palestinian fishermen by Israel during the month of November. Since 1 January at least 32 fishermen were arrested off the coast of the Gaza Strip, 17 of whom were arrested in November.

According to PCHR investigations, at approximately 8:00 on Monday, 28 November 2011, the Israeli navy arrested two fishermen and confiscated their boat and fishing equipment. The fishermen, Mahmoud Yasser Al-Nahal (20) and Mohammed Khamis Kaloub (18), both from Gaza City, were located within the Israeli imposed 3 nautical mile limit off the coast of the northern Gaza Strip when they were approached by the navy and ordered to jump of their boat and swim towards the army vessel. Both men were taken to Ashdod Port where they were detained. Al-Nahal was released the same evening at around 23:30 while Kaloub remains in detention. The boat and equipment have not been returned.

The most recent arrests took place on Tuesday, 29 November 2011, approximately 3 nautical miles off the coast of Khan Yunis, in the southern Gaza Strip. According to PCHR investigations, at approximately 10:30 that morning 3 Israeli gunboats and 2 smaller vessels approached a group of 6 trawlers. The navy ordered three of the trawlers to leave the area. Soldiers then started shooting rubber bullets randomly towards the three remaining trawlers, injuring the left hand of Nihad Rajab Hissi (30), a captain on one of the boats. All fishermen aboard two of the trawlers were arrested while their boats and equipment was confiscated. All but one of the fishermen aboard the third trawler were also arrested too, leaving one man on board to return to Gaza. The Israeli navy arrested 12 fishermen in total, all from Gaza City: Osama Mohammed Hissi, 30; Mohammed Rajab Hissi, 21; Mohammed Jehad Hissi, 19; Nihad Rajab Hissi, 30; Jamal Jehad Hissi, 22); Adham Khaled Al-Habeel, 25; Ahmad Majed Al-Habeel, 25; Rami Bahjat Abu Odeh, 30; Raed Yussef Abu Odeh, 28; Saleem Amin Abu Sadeq, 48; ‘Azmi Saleem Abu Sadeq, 20; and Khaled Khadr Abu Shar, 19. The fishermen were taken to Ashdod Port, handcuffed and blindfolded. In detention they were interrogated separately before they were released at Erez checkpoint at around 2:00 the following morning. Their boats and equipment remain confiscated.

For the past two decades the fishing waters of the Gaza Strip have gradually shrunk by access restrictions imposed as a result of the Oslo agreement and in more recent years by illegal unilateral restrictions imposed by Israel. Even within the currently imposed 3 nautical mile limit, the Israeli navy regularly attacks, arrests, and sometimes even kills fishermen. These policies illegally target fishermen and their livelihoods directly with severe consequences for civilian safety and financial subsistence.

Click here to read about the personal experience of 17-year old Mohammed Bakr, who was arrested together with his uncle and cousin, while they were fishing off the Gaza coast, on 10 November 2011.

In light of the above, PCHR:

1. Condemns the continuation of attacks against and arrests of Palestinian fishermen, and considers them to be part of the larger closure policy imposed on the Gaza Strip as a form of collective punishment of the civilian population.

2. Emphasizes the gravity of targeting and threatening civilians in the pursuit of their livelihood, severely affecting the means of survival of those directly affected, in violation of international humanitarian law and international human rights law;

3. Calls upon the Israeli Navy to immediately release the detained fishermen, return their confiscated boats, and to immediately and indefinitely cease all forms of attack and harassment against fishermen and to allow them to fish freely in Gaza’s waters;

4. Calls upon the international community, including the European Union and United Nations agencies, to assume their responsibility by taking immediate steps to end Israel’s violations of international law, and to ensure accountability and redress. As an urgent priority, the ongoing closure of the Gaza Strip, which includes the naval blockade, must be lifted.

Narratives Under Siege: A frightening movie

2011-12-04T11:05:00.000-08:00

PCHR

Thursday, 01 December 2011 00:00

“The bullets made the water splash up in my face. The soldiers shouted at us to take off our shirts and trousers. We had to jump into the water and swim towards them one by one” says 17-year old Mohammed Bakr, as he recounts how Israeli naval forces detained him from his family’s fishing boat, together with his cousin and uncle.

Mohammed Wisam Lutfi Bakr is the oldest of 9 children. He is from a fisherman’s family living in Gaza City’s Remal neighbourhood. He has been helping out on his father’s fishing boat since he was 7 years old. As he explains what happened to him, his cousin, and their uncle on the early morning of 10 November he relives the fear he felt during the initial attack, arrest and subsequent detention.

Like every morning when the weather allows, Mohammed, his cousin Abdul Kader Wael Bakr (17), and their uncle Arafat Lutfi Bakr (28) went out fishing off the shore of Gaza City, leaving at approximately 03.00. At around 03.30, when they were approximately 2 nautical miles off Gaza City’s shore, they were suddenly approached by a large Israeli gunboat. Without warning soldiers started firing shots in the water around them, very close to the boat. “The bullets made the water splash up in my face. The soldiers shouted at us to take off our shirts and trousers. We had to jump into the water and swim towards them one by one” Mohammed recalls. His uncle Arafat went first. Mohammed watched how his uncle was pulled on board of the gunboat by the soldiers. Then his cousin Abdul Kader followed. “I went last” says Mohammed, “they handcuffed us with plastic straps and blindfolded Arafat. There were at least 5 soldiers. They kicked and beat me on my arms and legs. They did the same to my cousin. I’m almost sure they gave our uncle even worse treatment, but I could not see him because they took him out of our sight”. All three of them were taken to a detention facility in Ashdod and held there blindfolded. “It was very dirty. At some point I said I needed to go to the toilet. Then they put me in an open area where everyone could see me. There was not even a toilet.”

Around 12.00h Mohammed and Abdul Kader were transferred to Erez checkpoint, between Israel and the Gaza Strip. There the two cousins were held and questioned until 22.30h. Then the soldiers at the Erez called Mohammed’s father and grandfather to tell them that they released the two cousins. The two men had been waiting for news about the boys since noon, when a fisherman told them they had been taken by soldiers. The father and grandfather had heard shots being fired while they were in the mosque for morning prayers. Later they realized they had heard the attack on Mohammed, Abdul Kader and Arafat.

Mohammed cannot stop thinking about his uncle, who is still being held in Israeli detention; “Arafat and I would go everywhere together and do all the fishing together. I am very worried about him. The soldiers even said; ‘you always go fishing with Arafat’. I am very afraid for how they are treating him.” Arafat is a member of the Palestinian Naval Police.

On the day of the arrest, the family’s fishing boat, including the motor and net, were confiscated. The boat was passed from Mohammed’s grandfather to his father and has been the livelihood of the extended family for as long as Mohammed can remember: “we have no money for a new boat, motor, and net. Altogether it would cost us around 46,000 NIS.” With the confiscation Mohammed and many of his relatives lost their only source of income.

Mohammed is in his last year of high school and is preparing for the final tawjihi exams; “all my classmates take extra classes for the tawjihi but it costs a lot of money, which my family doesn’t have.” Mohammed would like to take the extra classes too but with the loss of the family income, that has become an impossible challenge.

The Israeli army violence against the fishermen has a major impact on Mohammed and his family: “last year my twenty year old cousin, Mohammed Mansour Bakr, was attacked by the Israeli army while fishing. The soldiers shot him and he died. The army is merciless. We stopped fishing for a little while but eventually we had no choice but to get back to our work. We are attacked a lot by the soldiers. They harass us. During this year’s Ramadan they chased and harassed us seven times. It feels like they want to disturb us more during our holy month. At sea the thoughts of risks are constantly in my head. Everyone can feel the same fear at sea. It feels like watching a frightening movie”. However, there is no other option for Mohammed and his family but to continue fishing; “There is no other work for us. Where can we possibly get other work from in Gaza? Even though our work is very dangerous, there is no other choice but to go back to the see because we need the money. If and when we get another boat, I will go again.”

For the past two decades the fishing waters of the Gaza Strip have gradually shrunk by access restrictions imposed as a result of the Oslo agreement and more recently by illegal unilateral restrictions imposed by Israel. Even within the currently enforced 3 nautical mile limit, the Israeli navy regularly attacks, arrests, and sometimes even kills fishermen. This year at least 32 fishermen were arrested, 17 in the month of November. Another 5 fishermen were injured and at least 20 boats were confiscated. In conjunction with the restriction on fishing waters, the income of Gaza’s fishing community (8,200 fishermen and workers in the fishing sector) has steadily decreased. By 2010 the fishing catch had decreased by 37% compared to 2008 and this amounted to only half of the 1999 fishing catch. The sardine catch, which makes up 70% of Gaza’s total fishing catch, now only reaches 20% of the sardine catch that existed before the restrictions, representing a loss of $10 million. Finally, according to the Fisherman’s Syndicate, around 60% of the small fishing boats and 22% of trawler boats in the Gaza Strip are not used because of the high risks involved and the limited catch.

Israeli Navy Shoots Palestinian Fisherman Who Sued Israel, Kidnaps at Least Nine Others in Gazan Waters

2011-12-04T11:00:00.000-08:00

Posted on Notes from Behind the Blockade on November 30, 2011

Nahad Rajab Mohamed Al-Hesy in His Home

The Israeli navy violently seized two Palestinian trawlers in Gazan waters yesterday, shooting one fisherman in the arm, and ultimately forcing at least ten men to Ashod, Israel, where they were interrogated for several hours. Israel released all of the fishermen at 2 a.m. this morning.
Twenty-eight year old Nehad Mohamed Rajab Al-Hesy reported that his boat, along with six others, were fishing in the same area at about 11:30 a.m. Tuesday morning when he suddenly saw five Israeli naval ships—three large and two small—approach his boat, along with that of Omar al Habil. According to Al-Hesy, both men had sued Israel for destroying their boats in the past.
“The Israelis told four boats to go back to Gaza. All six boats tried to pull up their nets, but they prevented us. The Israelis started to shoot at us a lot and I got shot in the arm. The bullet entered and went out of my arm,” he added holding out his left arm wrapped in white gauze and bandages.
The Israeli navy then asked who was in charge of the boat and Al-Hesy answered that the boat was his. Next, the Israeli navy commanded him to take off his clothes, jump into the sea and swim until he reached the Israeli naval boats, then asked the three others—Mohamed Rajab Mohamed Al-Hesy, 18, Jarrimal Jehad Rajab Al-Hesy, 22 and Mohamed Jehad Rajab Al-Hesy, 19—to do the same.

A photo of the Nehad Al-Hesy's Boat Destroyed by the Israeli Navy in 2007 and the Subject of his Lawsuit Against Israel

“It was a terrible thing. It was a scary thing,” said 22-year-old Jarrmal. “Now we are all sick from the cold water they forced us to swim in.”
Once on the ship, Al-Hesy was blindfolded and Israeli forces tied his arms behind his back and forced him to sit in a painful position for several hours. “My back, shoulders and my arm that was shot were hurting a lot,” he said, “but I was thinking about my boat which my family depends on for income.”
In Ashod, Israeli forces began questioning Al-Hesy at 5 p.m.
“Why did you break the 3 mile limit?” an Israeli soldier asked him.
“During Oslo, we were allowed to reach 20 miles so why do you prevent us from going past 3 miles? These 3 miles not enough,” Al-Hesy responded.
“I’m not the Israeli army,” the soldier responded, according to Al-Hesy. “But there is something wrong with you. Why don’t you fishermen gather and ask the United Nations and go to the human rights centers so you can go more than 3 miles?”
The soldier subsequently changed the subject of the interrogation, asking Al-Hesy the names of the policemen working at the port. When the interrogation finished, Al-Hesy was told that he would be sent back to Gaza, but he refused to go without his boat.
He explained how in 2003, the Israeli navy took his boat along with about $10,000 worth of equipment. He told the soldier “All my family depends on this boat. We can’t live without this boat. If I don’t go back I can eat and drink here. If I go back without my boat I will not eat.”
When Al-Hesy saw the other fishermen he told them he wouldn’t go back to Gaza without his boat. The other fishermen agreed to do the same and refused to get on the bus to the Eretz border crossing. Israeli forces eventually forced all the fishermen on the bus.
Al-Hesy and the other men were eventually released at 2 a.m., but his trawler, along with that of Omar al Habil, remains in Israeli custody. Al-Hesy has been fishing since he was 13 and makes about 20 shekels a day, or $5.70. He recalls making 1000 shekels ($285) when Israel permitted fishing up to 20 miles. In addition to sustaining a bullet wound to the army, Al-Hesy also had scabs around his right ankle from the ankle cuffs.
His lawsuit stems from an incident in 2007 when the Israeli navy destroyed another boat of his. That case is still ongoing.
“We fishermen never do anything bad. We don’t send rockets from our boats, we don’t touch any of them, but they kill fishermen, arrest fishermen; they took so many boats.”

Gazan Fishing Trawler Similar to Nehad Al-Hesy's

Amnesty International "whitewashes" Israeli Navy's crimes

2011-12-03T21:22:00.000-08:00

Finally, after 3 years of efforts from international activists (ISM, Free Gaza Movement, CPSGaza), Amnesty International decided to pay some attention on the issue of Gaza fishermen. In the episode 7 of Amnesty TV, by Amnesty UK, there is a 3:51 part concering Gaza fishermen. (Go to 1:47).

http://tv.amnesty.org.uk/episodes/episode-seven/the_facts/

But all we see on this video is an Israeli gunboat aproaching and just... calling 2 fishermen in a small boat, accompanied by foreign hebrew speaking journalists, to go closer to the beach.

Is it just this what is really happening to the Gaza fishermen?

Where are the images of Gaza fishermen killed by the Israeli Navy?

Mohammed Nadi Saleh al-'Attar (picture from In Gaza blog)

Where do we hear the voice of the families of killed fishermen?

Where do we see in Amnesty´s video, the injured fishermen?

Where do we see in Amnesty's video the Gaza fishermen mutilated by Israeli gunfire?

Where do we see in Amnesty's video the fishing boats with dozens of bullet holes?

Where do we see in Amnesty's video, the fishing boats incinerated after Israeli shelling?

Where do we see in Amnesty's video, the fishing boats rammed by Israeli gunboats?

Where do we see in Amnesty's video, the Israeli gunboats shooting at the nets of the fishing boats? And bullets found inside the fishing boat...

Where do we see in Amnesty's video, the Israli gunboats throwing explosives near the fishing boats and spraying the fishermen and the catch of fishes with unknown biological or chemical liquid?

Where do we see in Amnesty's video, the Israeli gunboats firing shells, machinegun fire, tracer bullets and water from watercannon?

Where do we see in Amnesty's video, international activists injured by shattered glass during watercannon attacks?

Where do we see in Amnesty's video, the international accompaniment boat Oliva, attacked with watercannon by Israeli gunboats?

Where do we see in Amnesty's video, the Gaza fishermen who have been abducted, detained and abused, in order to become spies?

If small organizations with few activists like ISM, Free Gaza Movement or CPSGaza and a few Palestinian or foreign journalists, have managed to show the real life of Gaza fishermen, why can't the biggest human rights organization in the world, with 3 million members and a huge budget, do the same? And why Amnesty International didn't use some of this footage for the report on Gaza fishermen?
After seeing all these images, you can understand why Amnesty's report (of Israeli Navy just... shouting to the Palestinian fishermen), can be considered rather a "whitewash" of Israeli Navy's crimes, than a decent human rights report...

kaxlan2009

(The opinions expressed in this post are of kaxlan2009, the administrator of Fishing Under Fire, and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of other international activists who have worked or still working with Gaza fishermen)

Puertas al Mar (Spanish documentary on Gaza Fishermen - English Subtitles)

2011-12-03T18:36:00.000-08:00

Puertas al Mar English Subtitles from Puertas Al Mar on Vimeo.

Between December 2010 and January 2011 the Israeli army's attacks on Gaza's waters caused at least 14 arrests, among them two children, the confiscation of 2 boats and damages in equipments.

This documentary is part of a project implemented by UAWC and the APY Foundation in the Gaza Strip for the rehabilitation of fishing boats, distribution of equipment, and trainings in human rights and advocacy.
A total of 886 families dependent on fishing benefited from the project, which had the financial support of the Spanish Agency for International Cooperation for Development (AECID).
This documentary is the sole responsibility of its authors and the UAWC, and does not reflect necessarily the opinion of the AECID.

20, 12, 6, 3 nautical miles. Palestinian fishermen in the Gaza Strip see how their working area shrinks more and more. Their boats sail up and down the coast, finding little fish in highly polluted waters. They make a living between shifting boundaries imposed by the gunfire of the Israeli army. The sea that always fed them now has gates that cannot be crossed.

http://puertasalmar.org/indexeng.htm

Israeli Gunboats Fire on Palestinian Fishing Boats in North Gaza District

2011-12-03T10:11:00.000-08:00

3-12-2011

Al Mezan

At approximately 06:00 on Saturday, 3 December 2011, Israeli naval vessels patrolling the Gaza Sea opened fire on a Palestinian fishing boat off the coast of the As-Sudaniya area west of Beit Lahyia in North Gaza district. The firing scared the fishermen on the boats and they sailed to land immediately. No casualties or injuries were reported.

Israeli Gunboats Fire on Palestinian Fishing Boats in Rafah

2011-12-03T10:09:00.000-08:00

3-12-2011

Al Mezan

At approximately 18:40 on Saturday, 3 December 2011, IOF naval vessels patrolling the Gaza Sea opened fire on Palestinian fishing boats off the coast opposite Rafah. The firing scared the fishermen on the boats and they sailed to land immediately. No casualties or injuries were reported.

Israeli Gunboats Fire on Palestinian Fishing Boats in North Gaza District

2011-12-02T10:26:00.000-08:00

2-12-2011

Al Mezan

At approximately 06:30 on Friday, 2 December 2011, Israeli naval vessels patrolling the Gaza Sea opened fire on a Palestinian fishing boat off the coast of the As-Sudania area west of Beit Lahyia in North Gaza district. The firing scared the fishermen on the boats and they sailed to land immediately. No casualties or injuries were reported.

40 fishermen arrested in 2011, group says

2011-12-01T06:10:00.000-08:00

Fishermen pictured off Gaza's coast. (MaanImages/file)

GAZA CITY (Ma'an) -- Israel has detained 40 fishermen, injured five others and seized nine boats since the start of the year, according to findings released Wednesday by a local human rights group.

The Al-Mezan Center for Human Rights said the statistics showed an increase in Israeli violations against fishermen, highlighted by an incident Tuesday in which eight fishermen were taken into custody.

In a statement, the group "condemned the violations, especially those which target fishermen's lives, belongings and, most importantly, their dignity." The group called on the international community to take action.

According to Al-Mezan, Israeli naval forces frequently shoot at fishermen and arrest them. They also ban fishermen from work and only allow them to fish within a space of three square miles, the group said.

The group documented 49 cases of shooting toward fishermen and five cases in which naval forces destroyed important gear like netting.

Mahfouz al-Kabarety, head of the Palestinian society for fishing and marine sports, said Wednesday that eight of 10 men detained Tuesday and were released. Two fishermen detained Monday were freed earlier.

On both occasions, Israel confiscated the fishermen's boats and has not returned them, the official said.

On Tuesday, an Israeli military spokeswoman said a boat "deviated from a designated fishing area" off the Gaza coast, and was instructed to reverse course by naval forces in the area. The boat failed to comply with the instructions and the crew was taken into custody, she said.

Palestine's UN observer said in October that by preventing fishermen from reaching 80 percent of available fishing waters, Israel exacerbated poverty in the Gaza Strip, in a report to the General Assembly.

Noting that most Gaza residents were dependent on food aid, the International Red Cross said in July that Gaza's fishing industry had almost disappeared due to Israeli restrictions.

Israel frees Gaza fishermen but keeps boats

2011-12-01T06:08:00.000-08:00

Fishermen pictured off Gaza's coast. (MaanImages/file)

GAZA CITY (Ma'an) -- Israel has freed 10 fishermen detained off the Gaza coast but has not released their boats, a Palestinian official said Wednesday.

Mahfouz al-Kabarety, head of the Palestinian society for fishing and marine sports, said eight of the men had been detained on Tuesday and were released Wednesday. Two fishermen detained on Monday were freed Tuesday, he added.

On both occasions, Israel confiscated the fishermen's boats and has not returned them, the official said.

On Tuesday, an Israeli military spokeswoman said a boat "deviated from a designated fishing area" off the Gaza coast, and was instructed to reverse course by naval forces in the area. The boat failed to comply with the instructions and the crew was taken into custody, she said.

Palestine's UN observer said in October that by preventing fishermen from reaching 80 percent of available fishing waters, Israel exacerbated poverty in the Gaza Strip, in a report to the General Assembly.

Noting that most Gaza residents were dependent on food aid, the International Red Cross said in July that Gaza's fishing industry had almost disappeared due to Israeli restrictions.

A day at sea with Gaza’s fishermen

2011-11-30T14:41:00.000-08:00

by Lydia de Leeuw
26 November 2011 | A Second Glance

Israeli occupation navy forces harassing fishermen (Photo: Lydia de Leeuw, A Second Glance) - Click here for more images

Updated on November 30, 2011

IOF Attacks on Palestinian Fishermen Continue Al Mezan Condemns the IOF Arrest of 11 Fishermen and Calls on International Community to End Israel’s Violations

2011-11-30T06:12:00.000-08:00

30-11-2011

Al Mezan

88/2011

The Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) continue to attack Palestinian fishermen off the coast of the Gaza Strip where fishing is restricted to three nautical miles. At approximately 10:00 on Tuesday, 29 November 2011, IOF vessels patrolling the Gaza Sea opened fire on Palestinian fishing boats off the coast opposite the district of Khan Younis, in the south of the Gaza Strip. The Israeli vessels then moved towards three of the fishing boats, surrounded them and arrested eleven fishermen who were on board the boats. The IOF took the fishermen and two boats northwards to Ashdod harbour. The IOF later released one of the fishermen and one boat.

According to the information available to Al Mezan Center for Human Rights, the IOF arrested four fishermen who were on a boat belonging to Yousif Mohammed Abu Odeh. They released one immediately but the other three were detained in Israel. Al Mezan identified the names of the detained fishermen who were on this boat as follows:

· Khalid Khader Abu Shar, 19;

· Raed Yousif Abu Odeh, 28; and

· Osama Mohammed Al Hissi, 30.

Al Mezan identified the name of the released fisherman as Faraj Abu Odeh. The IOF also arrested four fishermen who were on the boat of Khalid Al Habeel. Al Mezan identified their names as follows:

· Adham Khalid Al Habeel, 25;

· Saleem Ameen Abu As-Sadeq, 48;

· Rami Bahjat Abu Odeh, 30; and

· Mu’men Saleem Abu As-Sadeq, 17.

The IOF released all the fishermen at dawn on 30 November 2011, however, the two boats remain in IOF custody.

Al Mezan points out that the IOF assaults on Palestinian fishermen have been on the increase in recent months. The IOF has launched attacks on fishing boats, including artillery attacks. Many fishermen have been detained along with their boats by the IOF. While the IOF enforces a three-nautical-mile zone in which fishing activities are permitted, attacks on fishermen continue to take place within this zone, including in situations where fishermen do not pose any threat to the occupation forces in the sea.

On 28 November 2011, the IOF arrested two fishermen, Mahmoud Yasser An-Nahal, 20, and Mohammed Khamis Killab, 19. An-Nahal was released in a few hours, while Killab has remained in Israeli detention. Al Mezan’s lawyer, who represents Killab, has not been able to visit him yet.

Al Mezan’s monitoring indicates that since the beginning of 2011, the IOF has arrested 40 fishermen, confiscated 9 fishing boats and injured 5 fishermen. The IOF has launched 49 attacks at fishing boats and caused damage to fishing nets and equipment in 5 incidents during the same period.

Al Mezan strongly condemns the IOF’s escalation of assaults on Palestinian fishermen, which put their lives and safety at risk. The IOF’s detention of fishermen is always carried out in a way that injures their dignity and is in violation of the prohibitions on torture and cruel, inhumane or degrading treatment. Al Mezan calls on the international community to make effective interventions to bring these violations of Palestinian fishermen’s rights to an end, especially IOF violence and ill treatment. Al Mezan calls for a full lifting on the restrictions imposed on fishing activities in Gaza. Israel must act in compliance with its obligations as an occupying power and refrain from attacking civilians and/or restricting their access to livelihoods.

Attacks on civilians must be investigated without delay in order to hold those responsible for violations accountable and to secure victims’ right to redress.

END

Israeli naval forces detain Gaza fishermen

2011-11-29T05:52:00.000-08:00

Fishermen pictured off Gaza's coast. (MaanImages/file)

GAZA CITY (Ma’an) -- Israeli forces detained eight fishermen off the coast of the Gaza Strip and took them to an unknown destination, a Palestinian union official said Tuesday.

Mahfouz al-Kabarety, head of the Palestinian society for fishing and marine sports, said the navy seized two fishing boats on which the fishermen were operating off the coast.

The fishermen were identified as Raed Abu Odeh, Usama al-Hassi, Jamal al-Hassi, Muhammad al-Hassi, Adham al-Habil, Salim As-Sadeq, Momen al-Sadeq, Bahjat Abu Odeh.

An Israeli military spokeswoman confirmed taking several men into custody.

She said a boat "deviated from a designated fishing area" off the Gaza coast, and was instructed to reverse course by naval forces in the area. The boat failed to comply with the instructions, she said.

The men were taken into custody at the Ashdod port, the official said.

Israeli navy hunts Gaza fishermen

2011-11-26T14:22:00.000-08:00

24 November 2011 | International Solidarity Movement, Gaza

Video of our international human rights observation boat outrunning the Israeli navy as it attempts to fire a watercannon on Palestinian fishing boats under 3 miles out to sea.
Publicly, Israel ‘allows’ fishermen in Gaza 3 miles in which to make a living. Today, as happens on most days they attacked 5 fishing boats at around 2.5 miles out, pursuing them until we were well under 2 miles away from the Gaza shore. For once, this regular occurrence was caught on camera.
For the first time in our boat’s history, we managed to escape.
This is what happened last time I was in this position.
Updated on November 26, 2011

Israeli Gunboats Fire on Palestinian Fishing Boats in Khan Younis Twice

2011-11-23T06:32:00.000-08:00

23-11-2011

Al Mezan

At approximately 11:30 on Tuesday, 22 November 2011, Israeli naval vessels patrolling the Gaza Sea opened fire on Palestinian fishing boats off the coast of Khan Younis.

At approximately 08:00 the following day, the IOF opened fire again at Palestinian fishing boats off the coast of Khan Younis. The firing scared the fishermen on the boats and they sailed to land immediately. No casualties or injuries were reported.

Israeli Gunboats Fire on Palestinian Fishing Boats in North Gaza District

2011-11-21T06:17:00.000-08:00

21-11-2011

Al Mezan

At approximately 10:00 on Monday, 21 November 2011, Israeli naval vessels patrolling the Gaza sea opened fire on Palestinian fishing boats off the coast of As-Sudaniya, west of Jabaliya in North Gaza district. The firing scared the fishermen on the boats and they sailed to land immediately. No casualties or injuries were reported

Israeli navy kidnaps two Palestinian children and uncle fishing in Gazan waters

2011-11-12T14:35:00.000-08:00

by Radhika S.
12 November 2011 | International Solidarity Movement, Gaza

Mohamed and Abdul Qader Baker - Click here for more images

Seventeen-year-old Abdul Qader Baker still has no idea why the Israeli navy surrounded his small fishing boat at 4 a.m. Thursday morning, ordered him, his 17-year-old cousin Mohamed Baker, and his uncle, Arafat Baker, to strip off their clothes, stand shivering in their underwear for an hour and a half and ultimately forced the group to Ashod. The two high school students were released approximately twelve hours later, but their uncle remains in Israeli detention.
“I was so scared and it was so cold,” Abdul Qader reported. After the Israeli navy ordered the group to take off their clothes, Abdul Qader stated that “for two hours I had to stand, not moving, while [Israeli] snipers pointed their guns at me.”
Abdul Qader and Mohamed are in the twelfth grade, and often help their families fish when there’s a school holiday, as was the case on Thursday. According to Abdul Qader,“[w]e went to retrieve the nets we had dropped and then suddenly I saw the Israeli gun boat in front of us, shining a big light into our boat.”
While the Israeli navy forced Mohamed and Arafat to jump into the sea, and swim towards the warship, Abdul Qader was told he could retrieve his fishing net and go home. “But when I started taking up the net, the Israelis opened fire and told me to leave the net and jump in the water.”
On the gunboat, Mohamed and Abdul Qader reported being blindfolded until they reached the port of Ashdod. “They took me to the harbor and when they removed my blindfold, I saw 40 soldiers. I was afraid and terrified,” added Mohamed. At Ashod, Mohamed was examined by a doctor, while an Israeli soldier photographed him.
Israeli authorities subsequently placed metal cuffs on the hands and feet of the two boys and eventually transferred them to Erez where they interrogated them for several hours.
At Erez, Israeli soldiers placed Mohamed and Abdul Qader in separate rooms and showed them various maps of Gaza, asking them to identify their houses and the names of their uncles and brothers. The Israelis also asked both boys to identify Hamas training locations, where Hamas people lived, were asked about a monument to the 9 Turks killed by the Israeli navy on the Mavi Marmara in 2010, whether the prisoners released in the recent exchange were staying at a particular hotel in Gaza City, and about open spaces used for a playground and a fish farm.
Israeli authorities released the boys at around 5 p.m. Their uncle, 28-year-old Arafat Baker, is still detained. “I have no idea why they arrested me,” said Abdul Qader. “I didn’t cross the 3-mile line,” he added referring to the fishing limit Israel has imposed on Palestinian fishermen in Gaza. “The Israelis are criminals. This is no way to treat human beings. It took me hours to stand on my feet [because of the cold], I couldn’t move my leg.” Abdul Qader added,“I don’t know yet if I will go fishing again. I need time to mentally recover from this.”
Abdul Qader’s right side and chest still hurt due to hours of standing in the cold and being forced into the sea. Israeli authorities did not permit the boys to call their families or an attorney, nor did they ever tell the boys why they had been detained or what laws they were alleged to have violated.

Updated on November 13, 2011

Israeli Navy Kidnaps Three Fishermen

2011-11-10T04:54:00.000-08:00

Thursday November 10, 2011 13:48 by Saed Bannoura - IMEMC & Agencies

The Israeli Navy kidnapped, on Thursday at dawn, three Palestinian fishermen, from the same family, west of the Fishermen Port, in Gaza.

Israeli Navi Attacking Fishermen in Gaza - File, Still from Al Jazeera

Head of the Palestinian Committee for Fishing and Maritime Sports in the Gaza, Mahfouth Kabarity, reported that the Navy kidnapped the three fishermen while they were in the three miles allotted by Israel to the Palestinian fishermen.

There whereabouts and condition remains unknown until the time of this report.

The three were identified as Arafat Lutfi Bakr, 29, Mohammad Wisam Bakr, 17, and Abdul-Qader Wael Bakr, 17.

Israel repeatedly carried out attacks against Palestinian fishermen leading to dozens of casualties.

Last week, the Navy detained two Palestinian fishermen in the Gaza Strip while fishing near Gaza shore.

Nizar Ayesh, head of the Palestinian fishermen trade union told Quds Press that an Israeli navy boat opened fire at a Palestinian fishing boats forcing them to stop, before kidnapping them

Ayesh added that Israeli assaults against Palestinian fishermen happens almost on daily basis, which causes a serious problem for fishermen who depend on fishing for their daily income.

There are around 3500 Palestinian fishermen officially registered in the Gaza Strip.

In 2006, Israel reduced the area where Palestinians fishermen are allow to fish to only three nautical miles.

Israel detains 3 fishermen off Gaza coast

Published yesterday (updated) 10/11/2011 16:41

Palestinian fisherman work on their boats in the port off Gaza City
(MaanImages/Hatem Omar, File)

GAZA CITY (Ma'an) -- Israeli forces detained three fishermen off the coast of Gaza on Thursday morning, a local official told Ma'an.

Israeli troops detained Arafat Lutfi Baker, 29, Muhammad Wisam Baker, 17, and Abdul Qader Wael Baker, 17, and took them to an unknown destination, said Mahfouth Al-Kabarety, head of the Society for Fishing and Marine Sports.

An Israeli military spokesman said the fishermen "deviated from the designated fishing area."

"The Israeli navy called on the boat to return to the designated area and when the boat did not respond to their calls to stop it was taken to Ashdod and the boat's crew was transferred to the custody of the security forces," the army official told Ma'an.

Al-Kabarety said the men were fishing within the permitted area.

Under Israel's maritime blockade, Palestinian fishers are forbidden from fishing more than three nautical miles from the coast.

During the Oslo accords negotiators had agreed on 20 nautical miles of fishing access along Gaza's coastline.

In September, the Palestinian Center for Human Rights expressed concern over the dramatic rise in the number and form of attacks on Palestinian fishermen.

Between January and September, PCHR documented 38 cases of Israeli naval forces shooting at fishermen, and 19 cases in which boats and tools were confiscated and damaged.

PCHR weekly report 27/10 - 2/11/2011: 2 fishermen abducted, 1 boat stolen, 1 boat damaged by gunfire

2011-11-03T22:04:00.000-07:00

extracts from PCHR weekly report 27/10 - 2/11/2011:

The Israeli Navy has continued to attack Palestinian fishermen in the Gaza Strip.

Israeli naval troops arrested two Palestinian fishermen.

Thursday, 27 October 2011

Also at approximately 03:30, Israeli gunboats stationed opposite to Khan Yunis beach in the south of the Gaza Strip arrested two Palestinian fishermen: Ahmed ‘Omar Rannira, 21; and Mousa Ibrahim Abu Jayab, 42, both from Deir al-Balah. They also confiscated the fishing boat.

Friday, 28 October 2011

At approximately 02:00, Israeli gunboats opened fire at a small fishing boat belonging to ‘Eissa Ramdan Abu ‘Amira, 52, which was sailing nearly 3 nautical miles off Gaza seashore. The boat was heavily damaged, but no casualties were reported.

PCHR Condemns Israeli Escalation of Attacks against Palestinian Fishermen in the Gaza Strip

2011-10-28T00:59:00.000-07:00

PCHR

Thursday, 27 October 2011 12:22

Ref: 107/2011

The Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR) condemns the Israeli Navy's escalation of attacks against Palestinian fishermen in the Gaza Strip that resulted in damages to fishing tools and equipment, detention of two fishermen and confiscation of their boat. Besides, the two fishermen were questioned, cruelly and degradingly treated and prevented from sailing and working freely. PCHR calls upon the international community to immediately put an end to these violations and exert pressure on the Israel to stop the policy of fighting civilians, including fishermen, in their livelihood.

According to investigations conducted by PCHR and testimonies of eyewitnesses, at approximately 03:30 on Thursday, 27 October 2011, Israeli warplanes targeted a "container", which is used to store fishing equipment and tools. As a result, the container was completely destroyed and fishing nets and a water tank were burnt. The container belongs to Mohammed Mahmoud Abu Shammala, 56, from Khan Yunis. This attack took place when Israeli gunboats surrounded two fishermen on board of a boat, two nautical miles off Khan Yunis shore. The Israeli naval troops opened fire at the boat and arrested Mosa Ibrahim Isma'il Abu Jayyab, 42, and Ahmed Omar Isma'il Taneera, 21, from Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip, after forcing them to stop fishing, jump into the water and swim towards the Israeli gunboat. The Israeli troops confiscated the boat and fishing equipment and transported them to Ashdod Seaport in Israel, while the two fishermen have been detained so far.

The Israeli Navy has escalated attacks against the Palestinian fishermen in Gaza since the beginning of this year. These attacks have remarkably increased in terms of number and kind. Since the beginning of this year, PCHR has documented 67 attacks against fishermen, including 40 firing incidents, five of which resulted in wounding eight fishermen who were transferred to hospitals for treatment. Additionally, PCHR has documented five incidents of chasing fishermen that resulted in arresting 18 fishermen, and 14 incidents of confiscation of boats and / or damaging fishing equipment.

It should be noted that the Israeli Navy has imposed restrictions on fishermen at sea, including denying then the right to sail and fish since 2000. The Israeli Navy also minimized the area allowed for fishing in Gaza sea from 20 to 6 nautical miles in 2008; however, the Israeli naval troops keep preventing Palestinian fishermen from going beyond three nautical miles in Gaza sea since 2009, and sometimes chase them in this area as well. As a result, Palestinian fishermen are denied access to areas beyond the three miles, due to which they have lost 85% of their subsistence.

In light of the above, PCHR:

1- Condemns the recurrence of such attacks against the Palestinian fishermen, and believes that they are part of the escalation of collective punishment against civilians. Besides, they have been carried out in the context of fighting the civilians in their livelihood, which is prohibited under the international humanitarian law and international human rights law;

2- Calls upon the Israeli Navy to immediately release the detained fishermen and their boat, to stop the policy of chasing and arresting fishermen and to allow them to fish freely in Gaza sea;

3- Calls for reparations to the victims for the physical and material damages caused to fishermen and their property;

4- Calls upon the international community, including the United Nations agencies, to assume their legal and moral responsibility through an immediate and prompt intervention to stop all the Israeli violations, including the ongoing naval blockade and deprival of fishermen of over 85% of their livelihood by limiting the area allowed for fishing to three nautical miles.

Israeli navy detains two Palestinian fishermen off the coast of Gaza

2011-10-27T16:32:00.000-07:00

[ 27/10/2011 - 07:00 PM ]

GAZA, (PIC)-- Israeli navy forces detained two Palestinian fishermen off the coast of central Gaza on Thursday morning, the chief of Palestinian fishermen Nizar Ayesh said.
He told the Quds Press that an Israeli frigate fired at the Palestinian fishing boat before steering it and two fishermen on board to Asdod port.
Ayesh said that Israel was acting without fear of any deterrence and attacking and arresting Palestinian fishermen at will.
The ministry of agriculture in Gaza condemned the incident and held the Israeli occupation authority fully responsible for the lives of both men.
It said that the Israeli navy attacked the fishing boat while at work only one nautical mile off the Gaza coasts.
Israeli warplanes had earlier Thursday raided a container on the Khan Younis beach, south of Gaza Strip, and destroyed it and all fishing equipment inside it.

CPSGaza Report - 23 October 2011

2011-10-24T15:29:00.000-07:00

The Oliva left the Gaza Seaport at 8:20 am, carrying its Palestinian captain and an international crew of two United States citizens.

At 10:45 am, while two nautical miles offshore, it observed an Israeli warship moving toward a group of five hasakas, clustered northwest of the Oliva, at a high rate of speed in an apparent attempt to scatter them.

The boats then began returning to the port. The Oliva accompanied them, leaving its position at 10:50 am and docking at 11:00 am.

Background:

Israel has been regularly attacking Palestinian fishermen within the purported 3 nautical mile fishing limit. The livelihood of many Gazans relies on fishing and Israel has been using live ammunition and water cannons to prevent fishermen from doing their work.

The Israeli Siege continues after more than 4 years, limiting the sea area available for the Gaza population. This area was supposed to be 20 miles according to the Jericho agreements from 1994 (under the Oslo accords), then it was reduced to 12 miles, to 6 miles and now to 3 miles since December 2008.

The Civil Peace Services continue monitoring potential human rights violations at the sea in front of the Gaza Strip.

Fishing in Gaza – no day at the beach

2011-10-24T15:07:00.000-07:00

24 October 2011 | Notes from Behind the Blockade

I saw an Israeli naval warship for the first time yesterday, a concrete monster the color of ash, guzzling up the Mediterranean and spurting it out in its wake.
I rose early to go out with the Oliva, a small white boat used by Civil Peace Service (CPS) Gaza to monitor the Israeli navy’s conduct vis-à-vis Palestinian fisherman.
My colleague Joe and I walked across Gaza’s sandy shore, past a dozen wooden boats painted in bright shades of pink, blue, green and yellow and then jumped onto the Oliva. CPS’s white and blue flag billowed as Captain Salah started the boat’s engine and we pulled out of the harbor. Burgundy carpets with geometric designs lay across the boat’s floor. Three orange life jackets sat within an arm’s reach.
“Oliva to base, we are now leaving the port,” Joe radioed.

Fishing in Gaza - Click here for more images

Because of weather conditions, we didn’t get started until about 8:20 a.m. Joe showed me how to work the radio and we were off. Dozens of small wooden boats – hasakas as they call them here – docked in Gaza’s peaceful harbor floated above the water, and if I didn’t know better, I may have felt like I was on a Middle Eastern pleasure cruise.
“So this may sound obvious, but if the Israelis water cannon you, don’t just stand there,” Joe informed me. “Duck,” he said in a matter of fact tone. “Oh, and go to the front of the boat, they generally target the engine.”
We sped towards the infamous 3 nautical mile line – another unilaterally-imposed “no go” zone imposed by Israel in June 2007 – cutting through the waves. Under the Oslo Accords, specifically under the Gaza-Jericho Agreement of 1994, Palestinians are permitted to fish 20 nautical miles off the coast of Gaza. Israel reduced this amount in 2002 to 12 nautical miles, and began enforcing a 6 nautical mile limit after Shalit’s capture in 2006.
“How are you feeling?” Joe asked me. At least one other international human rights observer had gotten sea sick on her first journey, and had asked if I would like to take something in advance of the journey for sea sickness.
“Oh I’m totally fine,” I responded. This was nothing. I mean the Mediterranean — it wasn’t even an ocean, how bad could it be? I declined the pills. And besides, I was tough. I sat back on the seats and chatted with Saleh for a bit in Arabic. He had 25 years of experience on the sea and told me the name of his village in what is now Israel from where his family was pushed out of in 1948.
At about 2 nautical miles I checked our position. We could see the Israeli naval ship moving towards five hasakas, headed our way. We continued forward, and then stopped our engine as one of them pulled up beside us.
“The Israelis shot live fire at us and we came back,” one of the men on the blue, yellow and white boat said. All of the hasakas came towards us, as fast as their small engines would be allow.
We all floated around for a while, until the navy moved away and the fisherman head back out. The Oliva straddled the 3 mile line, engines off, monitoring the situation. The fishermen explained what I had already read, that there were no fish to catch within 3 miles from the shore. The fish were 5, 6, 7 miles out. And so, the fishermen went out every day, sometimes fishing within 3 miles, sometimes going out further, in an attempt to ply their trade.
We watched as the Israeli navy played the game of cat and mouse with the working fisherman of Gaza, shooting at them when they came out, then moving south to shoot at another set of fisherman, then coming back towards us, and back again. Some of these fishermen had been detained by the Israeli navy in the past, taken to Ashod and then released, their boats damaged or confiscated.
“There are two more Israeli ships farther north,” Saleh explained.
I jotted down some notes, and, suddenly felt a wave a nausea. Taking notes was making me sick. I lay down. Joe periodically radioed the base to report our coordinates. At times, we could hear the crackle of the radio as the Israelis talked amongst themselves, sometimes in Hebrew, sometimes in English. I tried to recall the Hebrew I had learned years ago, but that too, made me sick.
“The navy is back,” Saleh reported. “Look they are very close to the fisherman.” I sat up and tried to take a few photos and some video footage, inhaling the engine’s fumes as the Oliva rocked in the sea. I lay back down. I was the world’s worst human rights observer at sea.
Saleh continued to explain the situation in Arabic, but my brain stopped working. I crawled up, leaned over the side of the boat and gagged a few times. And then, well, my breakfast came up. All of it. And dinner from the night before as well.
As my head dangled over the side of the boat, I wondered if the Israeli navy was watching us with their binoculars. Didn’t they have anything better to do then harass these poor fisherman? I mean really, the navy is supposed to be one of the most prestigious units for Israelis, and here they were spending all day, every day chasing after skinny fishermen riding in tiny pastel-colored wooden boats. Gilad Shalit was free, so really, why the 3 mile limit? Were they worried that Palestinians were going to fling sardines at them using 18^h century technology?
After about ten minutes I came back up. Captain Saleh had started the boat and he let me drive it for a few minutes, since apparently that cures sea sickness. It did. Around 11 a.m. the fishermen head back and so did we.
Back on shore, we saw the group that had initially reported the gunfire and they showed us their meager catch of silvery fish – selling for about 20 shekels ($4) a kilo. They would be back out again tomorrow, Israeli gunfire and all.

Updated on October 24, 2011

PCHR weekly report 6/10 - 12/10/2011: attacks opposite Beit Lahia and Deir al Balah

2011-10-13T23:30:00.000-07:00

extracts from PCHR weekly report 6/10 - 12/10/2011:

IOF have continued to fire at Palestinian fishermen and farmers in the Gaza Strip.

Friday, 07 October 2011

At approximately 21:15, Israeli gunboats stationed opposite to Beit Lahia beach in the northern Gaza Strip opened fire at Palestinian fishing boats. Palestinian fishermen were forced to flee towards the beach, and no casualties were reported.

Sunday, 09 October 2011

Also at approximately 07:00, Israeli gunboats stationed opposite to Deir al-Balah beach in the central Gaza Strip opened fire at Palestinian fishing boats. The fishermen were forced to flee towards the beach. No casualties were reported.

Monday, 03 October 2011

At approximately 07:15, Israeli gunboats stationed opposite to Beit Lahia beach in the northern Gaza Strip opened fire at Palestinian fishing boats. The fishermen were forced to flee towards the beach. No casualties were reported.

Virtual Field Visit: Israel's Enforcement of the Buffer Zone in the Gaza Strip

2011-10-10T20:21:00.000-07:00

This video combines Al-Haq's visual documentation with satellite imagery to create virtual tours of the human rights violations commited in the occupied Palestinian territory.
Each tour is designed to recreate the experience of making a field visit, providing everyone with the opportunity to see the on-the-ground reality of the occupation.

This tour shows how Israeli occupying forces often use live ammunition to enforce the buffer zone in the Gaza Strip, both on land and at sea. Since the beginning of 2010, stone-collectors have been increasingly under attack by Israeli soldiers. In 2009, Al-Haq documented seven cases of rubble collectors injured by live ammunition in the vicinity of the buffer zone, whereas this number was 10 times higher during 2010, when 68 rubble collectors, of whom 15 children, were shot. Fishermen are also targeted on a daily basis with many incidents occurring outside the buffer zone. In some cases, the Israeli occupying forces fire rockets and shoot bullets at the Palestinian boats at sea or on the shore in order to destroy them, thus preventing the fishermen from working.

- View an interactive version of this Virtual Field Visit.
http://alhaq.mits.ps/index.php/virtual-field-visits/buffer-zone

- Read Al-Haq's legal analysis of the Israel Enforcement of the Buffer Zone
http://www.alhaq.org/etemplate.php?id=598

Israeli Navy Fires At Fishing Boats In Gaza

2011-10-09T05:15:00.000-07:00

Saturday October 08, 2011 07:05 by Saed Bannoura - IMEMC & Agencies

On Friday evening, the Israeli Navy opened fire on a number of Palestinian fishing boats in Palestinian territorial waters near Beit Lahia, in the northern part of the Gaza Strip; no injuries were reported.

A Fishing Boat After Being Attacked By The Navy - File - newspalestina.blogspot.com

Following the Israeli attack, the fishermen returned to shore to avoid any further attacks.

Mahmoud Al Aassy, head of the At-Tawfeeq Society for Fishermen, stated that Israel is always trying to keep them from going out to fish, which leaves them and their families without any source of income.

Friday's is the latest incident in the ongoing attacks on the fishermen in Gaza. On October 5th, Israeli gunboats opened fire at Palestinian fishing vessels in northern Gaza; damage was reported but fortunately there were no injuries.

Israel enforces a no-go zone beyond three nautical miles off the Gaza Strip’s coast. This prevents Palestinian fishermen from reaching the good fishing areas, the Al Mezan Center for Human Rights reported earlier this month.

Even when they stay inside the designated fishing zone, they face recurring attacks and are subjected to cruel and degrading treatment by the Navy.

The Israeli Army also has kidnapped dozens of fishermen without any pretext, and has destroyed boats and equipment in order to discourage Palestinian fishermen from pursuing their livelihood.

According to Al Mezan's information, since the beginning of the September 2000 Intifada, Israeli soldiers have kidnapped 29 fishermen and opened fire on fishing vessels 229 times, resulting in 6 Palestinian deaths and 22 injuries.

In addition, 67 boats have been confiscated, and there have been 16 instances of equipment being damaged.

PCHR weekly report 29/9 - 5/10/2011: attack opposite Beit Lahia

2011-10-06T00:30:00.000-07:00

extracts from PCHR weekly report 29/9 - 5/10/2011:

Wednesday, 05 October 2011

At approximately 08:00, Israel gunboats stationed opposite to Beit Lahia beach in the northern Gaza Strip opened fire at Palestinian fishing boats. Palestinian fishermen were forced to flee towards the beach and no casualties were reported.

CPSGaza Report - 29 September 2011

2011-09-29T22:38:00.000-07:00

CPSGaza

At 7:51 am, the Oliva left the Gaza Seaport carrying its Palestinian captain, an international crew of an American and a German, and two journalists from a Palestinian news agency.

At 8:49 am, the Oliva was at 31° 33.77N / 034° 24.53E near three hasakas, a trawler, and an Israeli warship that appeared to move along the three-nautical mile line.
A second Israeli warship to the south of the Oliva was seen to activate its water cannon, although no target was obvious from our distance. This warship then also moved onto the three-nautical mile line.

At 10:43 am, the Oliva began its return to the Seaport, where it arrived at 10:57 am.

Background:

Israel has been regularly attacking Palestinian fishermen within the purported 3 nautical mile fishing limit. The livelihood of many Gazans relies on fishing and Israel has been using live ammunition and water cannons to prevent fishermen from doing their work.

The Israeli Siege continues after more than 4 years, limiting the sea area available for the Gaza population. This area was supposed to be 20 miles according to the Jericho agreements from 1994 (under the Oslo accords), then it was reduced to 12 miles, to 6 miles and now to 3 miles since December 2008.

The Civil Peace Services continue monitoring potential human rights violations at the sea in front of the Gaza Strip.

PCHR weekly report 22/9 - 28/9/2011: 2 attacks opposite Beit Lahia, nets destroyed

2011-09-29T00:40:00.000-07:00

extracts from PCHR weekly report 22/9 - 28/9/2011:

IOF continued to attack Palestinian fishermen in the Gaza Strip.

Thursday, 22 September 2011

At approximately 07:45, Israeli gunboats stationed opposite to Beit Lahi beach in the in the northern Gaza Strip opened fire at Palestinian fishing boats which were near the shore. At approximately 08:00, IOF boats approached the shore and destroyed fishing nets owned by Palestinian fishermen and pulled some fishing nets into the sea. As the Israeli boats approached the shore, Palestinian fishermen fled the area in fear for their lives leaving their equipment and fishing tools in the sea or at the beach. No casualties were reported. Palestinian fishermen who lost their fishing nets include: Qussai Mohammed Abed al-Sultan, 33; Ramadan Ghaleb Ramadan al-Sultan, 36; Mu’nis Abed Ramadan Zayed, 34; Ahed Ziad Mahmoud Zayed, 34; and Subuh Mohammed Hassan al-Sultan, 50, who all live in Beit Lahia.

It should be noted that Israeli gunboats carried out a similar attack on Tuesday morning, 20 September 2011, when they fired at Palestinian fishermen and at their boats, destroyed some fishing nets and pulled some other nets into the sea. Such attacks result in the loss of fishermen's living resources and put their lives at risk.

Wednesday, 28 September 2011

At approximately 04:30, Israeli gunboats stationed opposite to Beit Lahia beach in the northern Gaza Strip opened fire at Palestinian fishing boats. Palestinian fishermen were forced to flee towards the beach. No casualties were reported.

International activists in Gaza defiant despite repeated attacks

2011-09-26T22:36:00.000-07:00

26 September 2011 | Islam Online, Hama Waqum

The Civil Peace Service (CPS) Gaza human rights observation boat has returned to the waters off the Gazan coast after being grounded for two months due to Israeli naval attacks.
CPS Gaza aims to monitor human rights violations committed off the coast of Gaza, in which Gazan fishermen are invariably the victims. However in July, the CPS boat, Oliva, was attacked three times, with the final attack forcing the boat to retire to shore after the engine was rammed beyond repair. On September 25th, the boat made her first trip at sea, in which she was not attacked by the Israeli Navy.
Continuation of attacks
On 13 July, the Oliva crew and captain were encircled by one Israeli Navy warship, which fired water cannons continuously for fifteen minutes, aiming for the faces of the crew, as well as their cameras and radio equipments. The engine broke in the attack and the boat struggled to escape as the attack continued.
The following day, the boat was attacked by two Israeli Navy vessels, the force of the water cracking a section of the boat’s floor. The crew was forced to seek refuge on a fishing boat in order to make it back to shore. Once aboard the fishing trawler, one crew member reported that one Israeli naval officer instructed another to sink the boat with the water.
In this attack, the Navy officers also intimidated the fishermen with whom the CPS crew had sought refuge, demanding, ‘Where are your fish? Where are your fish?’ After the crew attempted to deter further attacks on the fishing boat by informing the Israeli Navy that they were international observers, a Navy officer responded by saying, ‘Leave and if we see you here again we will shoot you and the children [on board the fishing vessel] and the Europeans or Americans,’ according to one of the CPS crew members.
We won’t be intimidated
On July 20, Oliva suffered the attack that would ground her for two months, in front of a journalist from the Guardian Jerusalem office. For 20 minutes the boat was attacked with water by two Israeli Navy boats, and then rammed by one of the Israeli warships, which had a maniacal clown poster on its side. The engine was wrecked in the attack and Oliva had, until now, been stranded ashore.
Vera Macht, a German member of the CPS Gaza project explained that the project will continue to run and document human rights violations, “We won’t be intimidated,” she explained, “Olivia will sail out again to document abuses until international law is respected by Israel in the sea of Gaza. Fishermen are harassed, attacked, arrested and even killed by Israeli armed forces, even within the imposed 3 nautical mile limit.”
On September 25, 2011, Oliva set sail again, despite warnings that the human rights observers would be shot if the project continued. The boat cut its trip short because of weather conditions; the crew experienced reduced intimidation by the Israeli Navy and were not directly attacked.
Every Israeli attack on the Oliva has occurred within the Israeli-imposed 3-mile nautical limit, which forbids vessels from travelling further out to sea. This limitation overwhelmingly affects fishermen in catching adequate fish as the three miles have been fished extensively in the four years since the limit was imposed. According to the Oslo Accords agreements, a fishing limit of 20 miles was agreed, but fishermen have been restricted to three miles since Hamas took control of the costal enclave in 2006. This prevents Gaza’s fishing communities from accessing 85% of the Oslo-agreed fishing waters.
Joe Catron, a US citizen, was aboard the CPS Gaza boat during two of the warship attacks, “The bravery of Palestinian fishermen off the Gaza coast is like nothing I’ve ever seen. These courageous men, who continue struggling to provide for themselves, their families, and their country, despite the raw military aggression they face on a daily basis, inspired all of us. I’m honored to have played a small, fleeting role in supporting their fight.”

CPSGaza Report - 25 September 2011

2011-09-26T22:33:00.000-07:00

CPSGaza

Today the Oliva, along with a boat with international press, sailed alongside Palestinian fishermen for their workday.

At 9 a.m. the Oliva's GPS showed that the ship was 3 nautical miles from the Gaza coast. Aboard the ship were three CPSGaza human rights monitors (American, Spanish and German), a Slovenian journalist and the Palestinian captain.

Two Israeli naval boats appeared at 09.35 a.m. and one started to pursue the Oliva. Despite the fact that the Oliva had turned back towards the shore, it took a while for the Israeli boat to stop chasing behind. The fishermen returned to the port with no injuries or attacks.

Background:

Israel has been regularly attacking Palestinian fishermen within the purported 3 nautical mile fishing limit. The livelihood of many Gazans relies on fishing and Israel has been using live ammunition and water cannons to prevent fishermen from doing their work.

The Israeli Siege continues after more than 4 years, limiting the sea area available for the Gaza population. This area was supposed to be 20 miles according to the Jericho agreements from 1994 (under the Oslo accords), then it was reduced to 12 miles, to 6 miles and now to 3 miles since December 2008.

The Civil Peace Services continue monitoring potential human rights violations at the sea in front of the Gaza Strip.

CPSGaza to hold press conference relaunching project Oliva after forced hiatus

2011-09-22T17:06:00.000-07:00

CPSGaza

22 September 2011

For Immediate Release

Contact: Civil Peace Service Gaza +970 (0) 597 650 864
When:     Friday, 23 September 2011, 5:00 pm local time
Where:    Freedom Flotilla Martyrs Memorial and Square, Gaza Seaport
Who:      Maria del Mar, Spanish observer for Civil Peace Service Gaza

Vera Macht, German observer for Civil Peace Service Gaza

Mahfouz Kabiriti, President of Palestine Association for Fishing and Marine Sports
What: Civil Peace Service Gaza will be holding a press conference about the relaunching of the Oliva scheduled for 24 September

Photos and video will be available upon request: email press@cpsgaza.org.

The Oliva's engine was damaged when the Israeli navy rammed the boat on 20 July. Since the attack disabled the boat, international observers have been unable to accompany Gazan fishermen.

The incident followed similar attacks on the Oliva during previous missions. Video footage is available: http://bit.ly/CPSGvideos.

Vera Macht, a German human rights worker, stated: "We won't be intimidated, and the Olivia will sail out again to document abuses until international law is respected by Israel in the sea of Gaza. Fishermen are harassed, attacked, arrested and even killed by Israeli armed forces, even within the imposed 3 nautical mile limit."

Media are invited to contact Civil Peace Service Gaza in advance to coordinate accompaniment on the Oliva's upcoming missions.

PCHR weekly report 15/9 - 21/9/2011: nets confiscated - damaged

2011-09-22T16:30:00.000-07:00

extracts from PCHR weekly report 15/9 - 21/9/2011:

IOF continued to attack Palestinian fishermen in the Gaza Strip.

During the reporting period, Israeli gunboats opened fire at Palestinian fishing boats in the Gaza Strip. No fishermen were hurt, but Israeli naval troops confiscated and damaged some fishing nets.

Monday, 19 September 2011

At approximately 07:15, Israeli gunboats opened fire at Palestinian fishing boats opposite to Beit Lahia beach in the northern Gaza Strip. No casualties were reported. Israeli naval troops then confiscated and damaged fishing nets belonging to a number of fishermen, including Qussai Mohammed al-Sultan, Shareef Mohammed al-Sultan, Mohammed Khader al-Sultan, Mahmoud Isma’il Zayed, Hussam Mohammed Zayed and Ramadan Ghaleb al-Sultan.

Israeli Gunboats Open Fire on Palestinian Fishing Boats in North Gaza District

2011-09-15T16:12:00.000-07:00

15-9-2011

Al Mezan

At approximately 2:00 am on Thursday 15 September 2011, Israeli naval vessels patrolling the Gaza sea opened fire on Palestinian fishing boats which were in the waters off the coastline of the As-Sudaniya area, to the west of Beit Lahiya, North Gaza district. The firing scared the fishermen on the boats and they sailed to land immediately. No casualties or injuries were reported.

PCHR weekly report 8/9 - 14/9/2011: 2 fishermen wounded, abducted along 6 otherones

2011-09-15T15:49:00.000-07:00

extracts from PCHR weekly report 8/9 - 14/9/2011:

IOF continued to attack Palestinian fishermen in the Gaza Strip.

Two fishermen were wounded.

IOF arrested and interrogated 8 fishermen, including two children, but released later.

Sunday, 11 September 2011

At approximately 06:15, two Israeli gunboats surrounded two Palestinian fishing boats, on board of which were 8 Palestinian fishermen, including two children, opposite to Beit Lahia beach in the northern Gaza Strip. Israeli naval troops opened fire at the boats wounding two fishermen lightly:

1- Khader Hassan Bakr, 29, wounded by shrapnel to the left hand; and

2- Mohammed Suhail Bakr, 17, wounded by shrapnel to the right thigh.

Israeli naval troop then arrested the eight fishermen, but released them at approximately 18:00:

Hassan Khader Bakr, 53;
Khader Hassan Bakr, 29;
Ja’far Hassan Bakr, 27;
Mohammed Hassan Bakr, 21;
‘Allam Nasser Bakr, 16;
Khalil Jouhar Bakr, 21;
Mohammed Majed Bakr, 19; and
Mohammed Suhail Bakr, 17.

Tuesday, 13 September 2011

At approximately 07:15, Israeli gunboats opened fire at Palestinian fishing boats opposite to Beit Lahia beach in the northern Gaza Strip. Palestinian fishermen were forced sail back to the beach, but no casualties were reported.

Israeli Gunboats Open Fire on Palestinian Fishing Boats in North Gaza District

2011-09-13T16:07:00.000-07:00

13-9-2011

Al Mezan

At approximately 7:10 am on Tuesday 13 September 2011,Israeli naval vessels patrolling the Gaza sea opened fire on Palestinian fishing boats which were in the waters off the coastline of the As-Sudaniya area, in the west of Beit Lahiya, North Gaza district. The firing scared the fishermen and they sailed to land immediately. No casualties or injuries were reported.

IOF Arrests Eight Fishermen, Humiliates Them, and Confiscates Their Boats in Continuous Attacks against Palestinian Fishermen

2011-09-12T10:32:00.000-07:00

Al Mezan

12-9-2011

The Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) continue to attack Palestinian fishermen off the coast of Gaza. The IOF regularly opens fire against fishermen, detains them, and confiscates their fishing boats, preventing them from working even when they are within the Israeli-imposed “fishing zone” of three nautical miles. This “zone” was “declared” by the IOF in March 2009. Most recently, on Sunday 11 September 2011, the IOF arrested eight fishermen from one family, including two children, in North Gaza district, after opening fire and injuring two of them, including a child. The Al Mezan Center for Human Rights has repeatedly documented the IOF’s flagrant attacks against, and ill-treatment of, Palestinian fishermen in the past two months.

According to Al Mezan’s documentation, at approximately 7:00 am on Sunday 11 September 2011, Israeli naval vessels patrolling the Gaza sea opened fire on Palestinian fishing boats which were in the waters off the coastline of the As-Sudaniya area, near Jabaliya in North Gaza district. According to Al Mezan’s field investigation, the Israeli vessels then moved towards two of the fishing boats and surrounded them. Eight fishermen who were on board the boats were arrested. The IOF took the fishermen, the two children, and the boats northwards to Ashdod harbor. Al Mezan has identified their names as follows:

· Hasan Khader Hasan Baker, 53, and his sons Khader, 29, Ja’far, 27, and Mohammed, 21;

· ‘Adnan Nasser Fadel Baker, 16;

· Khalil Jawhar Baker, 21;

· Mohammed Majed Baker, 19; and

· Mohammed Suhail Baker, 17.

The fishermen are residents of Ash-Shati’ refugee camp. At approximately 6:00 pm on the same day, the IOF released the two children and Mohammed Majed Baker. It released the other detained fishermen at approximately 9:00 pm.

In his affidavit to Al Mezan, one of the fishermen stated that the IOF had opened direct fire on them while they were located west of Al Waha resort in the As-Sudaniya area. As a result, Khader Hasan Baker, 29, sustained a shrapnel wound in the left hand, Mohammed Suhail Baker, 17, sustained a shrapnel wound, in the right leg, and the boat engine was disabled. The IOF ordered the fishermen to take off their clothes, jump into the sea, and swim towards the Israeli boat. The fishermen asked the IOF to allow Hasan Khader Baker to stay on the boat as he suffers from heart disease. The IOF then cuffed the fishermen and took them to Ashdod port. He added that they were subjected to ill treatment during the IOF’s dealings with them. When the IOF finished interrogating the men, they were taken to Erez crossing and released there. The IOF still retains the two fishing boats as of the date of publication of this press release.

In this context, Al Mezan asserts that the failure of the international community to uphold its legal and moral obligations towards civilians in the occupied Palestinian territory (oPt), including the Gaza Strip, has encouraged Israel to continue its abuses against Palestinian fishermen in violation of international human rights law and international humanitarian law, particularly the Fourth Geneva Convention. Al Mezan calls on the international community to undertake serious and effective efforts to bring to an end the IOF’s abuses against Palestinian fishermen, including the use of torture and ill treatment. It also calls on the international community to work towards lifting the Israeli restrictions imposed on the movement of fishermen, in accord with Israeli obligations under international law.

Al Mezan reiterates its broader call on the international community to immediately begin working to achieve justice in the oPt and to pursue Israelis who have committed and/or ordered serious violations of international law. Al Mezan asserts the importance of bringing to an end the systematic immunity granted by the international community to violations of human rights and international humanitarian law in the oPt.

IOF Arrests Eight Fishermen and Confiscates Their Fishing Boats in North Gaza District

2011-09-11T09:51:00.000-07:00

11-9-2011

Al Mezan

At approximately 7:00 am on Sunday 11 September 2011, Israeli naval vessels patrolling the Gaza sea opened fire on Palestinian fishing boats which were in the waters off the coastline of the As-Sudaniya area, near Jabaliya in North Gaza district.

According to Al Mezan’s field investigations, the Israeli vessels moved towards two of the fishing boats and surrounded them. Eight fishermen who were on board the boats were arrested. The Israeli Occupation Forces took the men and their boats northwards, presumably to Ashdod harbor. Al Mezan has identified their names as follows:

· Hasan Khader Baker, 53, and his sons Khader, 29, Ja’far, 27, and Mohammed, 21;

· ‘Adnan Nasser Fadel Baker, 16;

· Khalil Jawhar Baker, 21;

· Mohammed Majed Baker, 19; and

· Mohammed Suhail Baker, 17.

The fishermen are residents of Ash-Shati’ refugee camp.

---------

Israeli forces detain 8 fishermen off Gaza coast

Published today (updated) 11/09/2011 16:47

Palestinian fisherman work on their boats in the port off Gaza City, Nov. 8, 2008
[MaanImages/Hatem Omar]

GAZA CITY (Ma'an) -- Israeli forces on Sunday detained eight fishermen off the coast of Gaza City, locals told Ma'an.

Locals said Israeli naval boats surrounded a fishing boat belonging to the Baker family near As-Sudanyeh, north of Gaza City and detained eight people on board.

Those detained were identified as Hassan Khader Baker, his sons Khader, Jafar and Muhammad and their relatives Allam, Suheil and Muhammad.

An Israeli military spokeswoman said the fishermen deviated from the fishing area and failed to respond to Israeli naval orders to turn around.

She said the fishermen were detained and taken for security questioning.

The sea off Gaza has been mostly off limits since June 2006 when Israel imposed a tight blockade on the territory after militants there captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, who is still being held.

The blockade was tightened a year later when Hamas seized control of the territory, ousting forces loyal to the Western-backed Palestinian Authority.

Israeli military ships patrol Gaza's Mediterranean shore, enforcing a unilaterally-imposed 3-mile fishing limit and blockade on the strip.

The last negotiated fishing limit for Gaza was 20 nautical miles, agreed on during the Oslo accords in the early 1990s.

IOF troops bombard Gaza suburb, fishing boats

2011-09-10T20:14:00.000-07:00

[ 10/09/2011 - 12:05 PM ]

GAZA, (PIC)-- Israeli occupation forces (IOF) fired a number of artillery shells at agricultural land in Shujaia suburb east of Gaza city at an early hour on Friday, local sources said.
They added that no casualties were reported, adding that IOF gunboats also fired at Palestinian fishing boats off the Gaza coast with no injuries reported.
IOF military had shelled Qarara area east of Khan Younis late on Thursday night while warplanes launched mock raids all over the Strip.

PCHR report 25/8 - 7/9/2011: attack opposite Beit Lahia and Jabalya

2011-09-08T12:03:00.000-07:00

extracts from PCHR report 25/8 - 7/9/2011:

Monday, 05 September 2011

At approximately 06:30, Israeli gunboats stationed opposite to Beit Lahia and Jabalya beaches in the northern Gaza Strip opened fire at Palestinian fishing boats. Palestinian fishermen were forced to sail back to the beach and no casualties were reported.

PCHR weekly report 18/8 - 24/8/2011: 3 attacks opposite Gaza Harbor and Jabalya

2011-08-25T11:20:00.000-07:00

extracts from PCHR weekly report 18/8 - 24/8/2011:

Saturday, 20 August 2011

At approximately 12:50, Israeli gunboats stationed opposite to Gaza Harbor opened fire at Palestinian fishing boats. Palestinian fishermen were forced to flee and no casualties were reported.

At approximately 20:30, Israeli gunboats stationed opposite to the northern Gaza Strip town of Jabalya opened fire at a number of Palestinian fishing boats. Palestinian fishermen were forced to flee and no casualties were reported.

Sunday, 21 August 2011

At approximately 04:30, Israeli gunboats stationed opposite to the northern Gaza Strip town of Jabalya opened fire at a number of Palestinian fishing boats. Palestinian fishermen were forced to flee and no casualties were reported.

CPSGaza Report - July and August 2011

2011-08-23T08:05:00.000-07:00

CPSGaza

Since the 23th of July the Oliva can not fulfill its mission as an international observer, due to the engine spoiling attack. Since then the Oliva has being working with its land team in coordination with local Human Rights organizations like PCHR.

The land team was formed by two international observers and a Palestinian observer.

During this period of time 2 attacks from Israeli Navy over Palestinian fishermen were reported; the 15th and 16th of August.

The attacks took place in Northern Gaza Strip. The first attack came from Israeli control towers, which opened fire against a group of fishermen that were fishing in the beach (at 300 meters from the border). As a result of the attack Yassin Ali Zayed, 41 years old, was wounded by a bullet in his right leg. The second attack took place in the sea, opposite to Beit Lahia, and Palestinian fishermen were force to sail back to the beach. No casualties were reported.

In both attacks life ammunition was used against the fishermen.

CPSGaza Report - Friday, 19 August 2011

2011-08-22T08:01:00.000-07:00

CPSGaza

Today, a fishermen boat, with three international people from de CPSGaza inside, was attacked by the israeli navy when they were 3 miles from the Gaza coast. These attacks against civilians violates the article 3 of the 4th Geneva convention which applies in a situation of Occupation.

Although by now the Olive can not fulfill its mission as an international observer, due to the engine spoiling attack which took place last 23th July, Gaza CPS members continue their work, monitoring Human Rights violation in the Gaza coasts.

At 11 am, the ship was working at a point near the town of Rafah, keeping the distance of three nautical miles from shore, according to fishermen. Then, an Israeli navy ship approached and without warning, opened fire into the water, near the fishing boat. After a few tense minutes, they went away. Accordint to the fishermen, they left after watching more clearly that there were three international on the boat,

Several naval ships had approached before, but never to such extremes. just watching
and controlling the fishermen's activities.

No one was hurt in the accident, and both fishermen and three international (citizens from Spain and France) could return to the harbour.

Background

Israel has been regularly attacking Palestinian fishermen within the purported 3 nautical mile fishing limit. The livelihood of many Gazans relies on fishing and Israel has been using live ammunition and water cannons to prevent fishermen from doing their work.

The Israeli Siege continues after more than 4 years, limiting the sea area available for the Gaza population. This area was supposed to be 20 miles according to the Jericho agreements from 1994 (under the Oslo accords), then it was reduced to 12 miles, to 6 miles and now to 3 miles since December 2008.

PCHR weekly report 11/8 - 17/8/2011: 1 fisherman wounded on shore, 1 attack off Beit Lahia shore

2011-08-18T11:02:00.000-07:00

extracts from PCHR weekly report 11/8 - 17/8/2011:

IOF continued to attack Palestinian fishermen and fishing boats in the Gaza Strip.
A Palestinian fisherman was wounded in the northern Gaza Strip.

Monday, 15 August 2011

At approximately 10:30, Israeli soldiers stationed on observation towers at the border between the Gaza Strip and Israel to the northwest of the northern Gaza Strip town of Beit Lahia opened fire at a number of Palestinian fishermen who were fishing at the beach. As a result, a fisherman, Yassin ‘Ali Zayed, 41, from al-Salatin area in Beit Lahia, was wounded by a bullet to the right leg. Zayed was nearly 300 meters away from the border.

Tuesday, 16 August 2011

At approximately 20:40, Israeli gunboats opened fire at Palestinian fishing boats opposite to Beit Lahia beach in the northern Gaza Strip. Palestinian fishermen were forced to sail back to the beach and no casualties were reported.

IOF Open Fire at and Injure Palestinian Fisherman in North Gaza District

2011-08-15T10:17:00.000-07:00

Al Mezan

15-8-2011

At approximately 10:30 am on Monday 15 August 2011, Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) opened fire at Yaseen Ali Yaseen Zayid, 41, while he was fishing in the As-Siafa area west of Beit Lahiya town, in North Gaza district. As a result, Zayid sustained a bullet wound in the right leg. He was about 300 meters from the border fence between the Gaza Strip and Israel when the IOF opened fire at him. Zayid was admitted to Kamal Odwan Hospital to receive medical treatment.

Support CPSGaza: Keep international observers sailing in Gaza

2011-08-03T07:57:00.000-07:00

CPSGaza

Spanish, French, Italian and German below

The Civil Peace Service Gaza is an international, non-partisan, non-violent initiative to monitor potential human rights violations in Gazan territorial waters. In coordination with local organizations and fishermen, the aim of this international mission is to address the principal problem of ongoing violations of Palestinian fishermen's human rights. By accompanying the boats of Palestinians trying to make a livelihood from fishing in the Gazan sea, CPSGaza hopes to capture the international community and pressure the Israeli government to end the ongoing attacks against fishermen.

There are 4450 fishermen and the fishing industry employs another 2000 workers who support approximately 40,000 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and those who seek a livelihood at sea face arrest, injury and death. With unemployment figures at an estimated 45.2%, the significance of fishing is incontrovertible.

The boat manned by international human rights observers, named Oliva, accompanies the fishermen on a regular basis to document and publicize daily Israeli aggression. Since the launch of the project in April, the crew has been targeted by Israeli naval forces, but continued to fulfill the CPSGaza mission, undeterred.

During the latest voyage, the force used by Israel to ram the Oliva, destroyed the engine of the boat and we are asking for your help. The expenses of the project have significantly increased due to the engine. Your contribution can help us expand our outreach and raise awareness about the situation in Gaza. In the short time since the launch of CPSG; over 50 organizations have endorsed this mission, we have had over 12,000 visitors to our website (http://www.cpsgaza.org/) and have already been covered by several prominent news sources.

In order to continue our work, we need your financial support. Please consider making a donation online via PayPal (http://urly.it/14gb), transferring funds to our bank account or making a tax-deductible donation.

You can also show your support by endorsing this project: individual endorsement (http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/cpsgaza/) or organizational endorsement (http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/cpsgazagroups/)

Spanish: Solicitud de apoyo al CPSGaza: Para que los observadores internacionales continúen navegando en Gaza

El Servicio de Paz Civil de Gaza es una iniciativa internacional, no-partidista, noviolenta para monitorizar las violaciones potenciales de los derechos humanos en las aguas territoriales gazatíes. En coordinación con organizaciones locales y pescadores, el objetivo de esta misión internacional es hacer frente al principal problema de las violaciones continuas de los derechos humanos de los pescadores palestinos. Acompañando a los barcos de los palestinos que tratan de ganarse la vida pescando en las aguas de Gaza, el CPSGaza confía captar a la comunidad internacional para que presione al gobierno israelí a cesar sus ataques contra los pescadores.

Hay 4.450 pescadores y la industria pesquera da empleo a otros 2000 trabajadores que permiten subsistir a unos 40.000 palestinos de la Franja de Gaza y los que buscan su medio de vida en el mar se enfrentan a ser arrestados, heridos y muertos. Con un tasa de paro que se estima en un 45.2%, el sector pesquero es de gran importancia.

El barco, tripulado por observadores internacionales por los derechos humanos se llama ‘Oliva’, y acompaña a los pescadores regularmente para documentar y visualizar las diarias agresiones israelíes. Desde el lanzamiento del proyecto en Abril, la tripulación ha sido objetivo de las fuerzas navales israelíes, pero ha continuado cumpliendo la misión CPSGaza, sin dejarse intimidar.

Durante la última travesía, la fuerza que utilizó Israel para atacar el ‘Oliva’ destrozó el motor del barco y por ellos os pedimos vuestra ayuda. Los gastos del proyecto se han incrementado de modo significativo debido al motor. Tu contribución puede ayudarnos a expander nuestro alcance y a sensibilizar sobre la situación de Gaza. En el corto tiempo desde que se hizo el lanzamiento del CSPG, más de 50 organizaciones han respaldado esta misión, hemos tenido más de 12.000 visitantes en nuestra página Web (http://www.cpsgaza.org/) y la información ya ha sido cubierta por varios medios de comunicación destacados.

Para continuar nuestro trabajo, necesitamos tu apoyo económico. Te rogamos que consideres hacer una donación en línea a través de PayPal (http://urly.it/14gb), transfiriendo fondos a nuestra cuenta bancaria o haciendo una donación deducible de impuestos.

También puedes mostrar tu apoyo, apoyando con tu firma este proyecto: apoyo individual (http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/cpsgaza/) ó apoyo de organizaciones, en (http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/cpsgazagroups/).

French: Soutenez CPSGaza pour maintenir à flot le bateau des observateurs internationaux à Gaza

Le Service civil de Paix-Gaza (CPSGaza) est une initiative internationale, sans affiliation politique, non violente qui surveille les violations potentielles des droits de l'homme dans les eaux territoriales de Gaza. En coordination avec des organisations locales et des pêcheurs, cette mission internationale a pour but de recenser le problème principal des violations continuelles des droits humains des pêcheurs palestiniens. En accompagnant les bateaux des Palestiniens qui essaient de gagner leur vie par la pêche, CPSGaza espère alerter la communauté internationale et faire pression sur le gouvernement israélien pour qu'il mette fin à ses attaques incessantes contre les pêcheurs.

Il y a à Gaza 4.450 pêcheurs et l'industrie de la pêche emploie 2.000 autres travailleurs qui subviennent aux besoins d'environ 40.000 Palestiniens dans la Bande de Gaza; ceux qui cherchent à gagner leur vie en mer au large de Gaza courent le risque d'être arrêtés, blessés et tués. Avec un taux de non-emploi d'environ 45,2%, l'importance de la pêche est incontestable.

Le canot à moteur armé par les observateurs internationaux pour les droits de l'homme, appelé "Oliva", accompagne régulièrement les pêcheurs pour documenter et attirer l'attention sur les attaques israéliennes quotidiennes. Depuis le lancement du projet en avril, l'équipage a été la cible des forces navales israéliennes mais continue de remplir la mission du CPSGaza sans céder aux tentatives d'intimidation.

Pendant sa dernière sortie en mer, Israël a percuté le Oliva avec une telle violence que le moteur a été détruit, et nous sollicitons votre aide. La destruction du moteur a considérablement augmenté les frais du projet. Votre contribution peut nous aider à étendre la portée de notre travail et à attirer l'attention sur la situation à Gaza. Dans la courte période qui a suivi le lancement de CPSG, plus de 50 organisations ont approuvé cette mission, nous avons eu plus de 12.000 visiteurs sur notre site en ligne, CPSGAZA (http://www.cpsgaza.org/) et notre initiative a déjà été couverte par plusieurs sources d'informations de premier plan.

Pour que nous puissions continuer notre travail, nous avons besoin de votre soutien financier. Merci de penser à faire un don en ligne par PayPal (http://urly.it/14gb), à verser des fonds sur notre compte bancaire ou à faire un don déductible de vos impôts.

Vous pouvez aussi exprimer votre soutien en appuyant ce projet : appui individuel (http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/cpsgaza/) ou appui d'une organisation (http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/cpsgazagroups/)

Italian: Supporta CPSGaza: mantieni gi osservatori internazionali nelle acque di Gaza

Il Civil Peace Service Gaza è un’iniziativa internazionale non militante e non violenta, per monitorare potenziali violazioni dei diritti umani nelle acque territoriali di Gaza. In coordinazione con le organizzazioni locali e i pescatori, l’obiettivo di questa missione internazionale è quello di occuparsi del problema principale delle violazioni costanti dei diritti umani dei pescatori Palestinesi. Accompagnando le barche dei palestinesi che cercano di guadagnare la propria sopravvivenza per mezzo della pesca nei porti di Gaza, CPSGaza spera di mobilitare la comunità internazionale e far pressione sul governo israeliano affinché cessi gli attacchi in corso contro i pescatori.

Ci sono 4450 pescatori e l’industria della pesca da lavoro ad altri 2000 pescatori che sostengono approssimativamente 40.000 palestinesi nella striscia di Gaza e coloro che cercano la propria sussistenza con il mare devono affrontare gli arresti, lesioni e morte. Con un tasso di disoccupazione stimato al 45,2%, l’importanza della pesca è inoppugnabile.

L’ imbarcazione con equipaggio formato da osservatori internazionali dei diritti umani, nominata Oliva, accompagna i pescatori regolarmente per documentare e pubblicizzare le aggressioni giornaliere di Israele. Da quando è stato lanciato il progetto in Aprile, l’equipaggio è stato bersaglio delle forze navali Israeliane ma ha continuato ad adempiere la missione di CPSGaza risolutamente.

Durante l’ultimo viaggio, la forza utilizzata da Israele per sbattere contro l’imbarcazione Oliva ha distrutto il motore e stiamo chiedendo il vostro aiuto. Le spese del progetto sono aumentate significantemente a causa del danno al motore. Il tuo contributo può aiutarci ad espanderci e aumentare la consapevolezza sulla situazione a Gaza. Nel poco tempo dal lancio di CPSG: oltre 500 organizzazioni hanno appoggiato questa missione, abbiamo avuto oltre 12.000 visitatori sul nostro sito web (http://www.cpsgaza.org/) e siamo già stati oggetto di notizia per parecchie testate giornalistiche importanti.

Per continuare il nostro lavoro abbiamo bisogno del tuo appoggio economico. Per cortesia valuta la possibilità di fare una donazione via PayPal (http://urly.it/14gb), trasferendo fondi sul nostro conto bancario o facendo una donazione deducibile dall’imponibile.

Puoi anche mostrare il tuo supporto appoggiando questo progetto: appoggio individuale (http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/cpsgaza/) o appoggio organizzativo (http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/cpsgazagroups/)

German: Unterstützt CPSGaza: Internationale Beobachter sollen weiterhin in Gaza mitsegeln

Der zivile Friedensdienst Gaza [Civil Peace Service Gaza – CPSGaza] ist eine internationale, überparteiliche und gewaltlose Initiative, um mögliche Menschenrechtsverletzungen in Gazas Küstengewässern zu dokumentieren. In Zusammenarbeit mit örtlichen Organisationen und Fischern will diese internationale Gruppe das grosse Problem der fortgesetzten Verletzung der Menschenrechte von palästinensischen Fischern ansprechen. CPSGaza begleitet die Boote von Palästinensern, die ihren Lebensunterhalt durch das Fischen in Gazas Wassern verdienen wollen, und wendet sich in ihren Berichten an die internationale Gemeinschaft, damit die israelische Regierung durch internationalen Druck zur Beendigung der kontinuierlichen Angriffe auf Fischer gebracht wird.

Es gibt 4450 Fischer in Gaza und die Fischerei beschäftigt weitere 2000 Arbeiter, deren Einkommen etwa 40 000 Palästinenser im Gazastreifen unterstützt. Fischer in Gaza sehen sich bei ihrer Arbeit auf dem Meer mit Verhaftung, Verletzung und Tod konfrontiert. Angesichts der hohen Arbeitslosigkeit, die auf 45,2 Prozent geschätzt wird, ist die Bedeutung der Fischerei unbestritten.

Auf dem Schiff “Oliva” begleiten internationale Menschenrechtsbeobachter die Fischer regelmässig auf das Meer, um die täglichen israelischen Übergriffe zu dokumentieren und zu veröffentlichen. Seit dem Stapellauf im April war die Mannschaft im Visier der israelischen Marine, sie hat aber die Mission der CPSGaza fortgesetzt, ohne sich entmutigen zu lassen.

Während der letzten Reise der Oliva rammte ein israelisches Schiff das Boot mit solcher Wucht, dass der Motor zerstört wurde. Deshalb bitten wir um Ihre Hilfe. Die Ausgaben für das Projekt sind durch diesen Vorfall erheblich angestiegen. Ihr Beitrag kann uns helfen, unsere Mission und die Kenntnis der Öffentlichkeit über die Situation in Gaza zu erweitern. In der kurzen Zeit seit Beginn der Arbeit des CPSGaza haben über 50 Organisationen die Initiative öffentlich unterstützt, über 12 000 Menschen haben unsere Webseite (http://www.cpsgaza.org/) besucht und mehrere wichtige Nachrichtenagenturen haben über uns berichtet.

Zur Fortsetzung unserer Arbeit brauchen wir Ihre finanzielle Unterstützung. Wir bitten Sie um eine Spende online durch Pay Pal (http://urly.it/14gb) oder durch eine Überweisung auf unser Bankkonto. Steuerlich absetzbare Spenden sind ebenfalls möglich.

Sie können Ihre Unterstützung auch durch eine Unterschrift zeigen: Individuell unter:(http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/cpsgaza/) Organisationen unter: (http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/cpsgazagroups/)

CPSGaza Report - June and July 2011

2011-08-02T07:52:00.000-07:00

CPSGaza

8 June 2011 – 30 June 2011

The Oliva has carry out 9 missions, from 8:00am to 12:00am. Two international observers and a Palestinian Captain conform always the Sea team, and one international observer and a Palestinian observer conform always the land team.

During this period of time 6 attacks from Israeli Navy over Palestinian fishermen were reported; the 11th , 17th, 18th, 21st and 23th of June. The attacks happened when the Oliva was not sailing. No incident was witnessed by the Oliva while carrying on its mission.

All the attacks took place in Northern Gaza Strip. No casualties, injuries were reported as a result of the attack. Two Palestinians fishermen were arrested and released later. Three Palestinian fishing boats were damaged (boats and engines).

During this period of time, the Oliva crew observed that whenever they were approaching an area were the Israeli Navy was attacking Palestinian Fishermen, the Israeli Navy withdraw the area after noticing the Oliva presence and their call announcing their mission.

No direct contact was hold between Israeli Navy and the crew of the Oliva.

1 July 2011 – 20 July 2011

During this period, the Israeli Navy has changed their operational mode, and between the 13th and the 21st of July the Oliva was attacked four times, it became a direct target. Once the Israeli Navy observed that the Oliva was sailing their goal was directly facing and attacking the Oliva, trying to sink it, always inside the three mile limit imposed unilaterally by Israel, the area where the Oliva operates.

The Oliva has carry out 9 missions. From 8:00am to 13:00pm. Two international observers and a Palestinian Captain conform always the Sea team, and one international observer and a Palestinian observer conform always the land team.

During this period there have being 5 attacks from Israeli Navy over Palestinian fishermen reported, while the Oliva was not sailing, and 4 attacks over the Oliva and international press boats; the 3rd ,4th, 5th, 9th, 13th, 14th, 16th and 20th of July.

As a result of the attacks 1 Palestinian fishermen boat was damaged, the Oliva was damaged and the engine destroyed, at least 1 person was injured (light injures). No one was arrested.

The CPS Gaza international Observers have received Israeli threats to use life ammunition against them in case they sail again.

Now the CPSGaza is trying to assure security conditions for its observers while carrying on its mission, before sailing again.

IDF shoots live ammunition at ISM activists at sea

2011-07-30T06:36:00.000-07:00

24 July 2011 | International Solidarity Movement, Gaza

On Saturday the ISM crew for CPS Gaza rode out on the trawler that rescued us during the second attack on the Oliva on Thursday, July 14^th. As I mentioned before, the Oliva project is currently on an indefinite hiatus. Nils, Joe and I went to the port at 7:10 am and we rode out to sea around 7:30. There were 3 adult Palestinian men on the boat and two young boys. Joe, Nils and I sat on the deck of the ship’s bow and the captain and other passengers stayed in the middle and back of the vessel. Around the 2 to 2.5 mile point we spotted the Israelis coming towards us from the north. When they were still about a mile’s distance from us I called them over the radio and said that we were “Unarmed international observers on board, 2 United States citizens and one Swedish citizen.” I repeated this a number of times but they continued to approach us at a high speed. Joe and I were on the bow of the boat when we noticed that the Israeli Navy was now about 100 meters from us and had fired 2 shots into the water. We retreated to the center of the boat where the steering cabin is and I repeated again over the radio that we were “unarmed international observers.” This did nothing to sway their actions and they fired live rounds both in the water and directly at the boat for around 15 or 20 minutes. Joe returned to the front of the boat and tried speaking to them over the megaphone, repeating the fact that we were internationals and that the boat had no hostile or military intentions and the captain and his crew were just going to fish. By this point the trawler had reached the 3-mile limit. The captain desperately wanted to go further out to 4 or 5 miles because the 3-mile area is completely overfished and he said “it’s better to return home than to even bother fishing here.” While the shooting was still taking place, we decided to have Nils speak to them over the radio so they could hear someone with a Swedish accent. We were holding out desperate hope that our status as internationals would save the boat and allow the men to fish. At one point the gunboat retreated slightly—only to double-back and continue harassing us. Nils repeatedly said over the radio, “Israel, why do you do this? We are peaceful people, we mean you no harm.” After at least 30 minutes of creating turbulence and shooting live rounds at us the boat retreated again, this time for good. I jumped back on the radio and told them to “let us go, we are not hostile and the captain only wants to fish.” The Israelis responded and claimed that we were past 3 miles and were somewhere between 4 and 5 miles out to sea and insisted that I tell the captain to go back to the 3 mile mark. The captain said that we were basically 3 miles, then he corrected that we were 3 miles and about 700 meters. He asked me to tell them that he wouldn’t go past this point and only wanted one hour to fish here because there wouldn’t be any fish within the 3-mile limit. He said they need to fish for food for Ramadan and there would be no food if we were to move further in to shore. I said this to them in English several times awaiting a response since it had only been a few minutes since they had communicated with us directly. After this the captain and his friend took the radio and begged them in a broken mixture of Arabic and Hebrew to let the boat stay where it was for one hour—just to fish—just to get food for Ramadan. It was heartbreaking to watch. It’s perverse that the Palestinians should have to beg for this right from an illegitimate occupying force. Although it seemed that the Israelis weren’t concerned with the status of the international passengers as they were shooting at us, I have to assume that it would have only been worse had we not been on board. The captain seemed used to this procedure and was firm in his decision to stay at sea to fish—in the face of Israeli violence. After about 10 minutes had passed and the captain was still on the radio begging to be allowed a few extra hundred meters for just one hour, the gunboat left and another warship equipped with the water canon took its place. The intensity of the water pressure seemed stronger than ever and the hit the boat for 20 or 30 minutes before we were able to get away. Unfortunately at this point the captain saw no use in staying out there and brought the ship back to the port. While we were riding back I leaned over the edge of the bow and saw the new bullet holes from the day’s attacks.
When I went out today, one of my intentions was to observe the situation in the absence of the Oliva, and after this experience I can say two things with confidence. My first conclusion is that this harassment is a frequent, if not daily occurrence for Palestinian fishermen. The second is that Israel’s claim that the Oliva is a “constant provocateur” has not a shred of validity (not that it did before, but this confirms it) as the Israeli Navy is equally if not more violent without the Oliva and its observation crew at sea.

A longer version of this report originally appeared on Against Empire, the blog of International Solidarity Movement – Gaza Strip member Alexandra Robinson.

Updated on July 30, 2011

Gaza fishermen swamped by Israeli gunboats and water cannon

2011-07-26T06:42:00.000-07:00

24 July 2011 | The Guardian, Harriet Sherwood
Hani al-Asi, a fisherman since the age of 11 and a father with 12 mouths to feed, had just begun throwing his lines into the Mediterranean when an Israeli gunboat sped towards his traditional hasaka.

With a machine gun mounted at the rear and half a dozen armed soldiers on the bridge, the navy vessel repeatedly circled the small fishing boat. The rolling waves caused by the backwash threatened to swamp it.
Asi had stopped his boat over an artificial reef created by dumped cars to attract the dwindling fish population. He was just beyond the limit of three nautical miles from the Gaza shoreline set by the Israeli military for Palestinian fishermen, beyond which they are forbidden to fish for “security reasons”.
“We see them every day,” he said, shrugging at the gunboat’s presence. “I got used to this. Every day they are around us – shooting, damaging the boat, sometimes people are injured. If we were scared, we wouldn’t fish. But we have nothing else to do.”
With the boat rocking forcefully, the gunboat’s crew addressed Asi in Arabic through its loudspeaker. “You are in a forbidden area. Go back.” Asi pulled in the lines and headed back to port.
“The best place to fish is more than 10 miles out,” he said. “But every time we exceed three miles, they shoot at us, use the water [cannon], take the nets. Even today when foreigners are with us, they were trying to tip the boat over.”
Under the 1993 Oslo accords, Palestinian fishermen were permitted to fish up to 20 nautical miles off the coast of Gaza. Over the past 18 years, the fishing area has been successively eroded, most recently in 2007 when Israel imposed a limit of three nautical miles as part of its land and sea blockade of Gaza after Hamas took control of the territory.
But fishermen and human rights groups say that, since the war in Gaza in 2008-09, the Israeli military regularly enforces a limit even closer to the shore.
The restriction has devastated Gaza’s fishing industry. “It is a catastrophic situation,” said Khalil Shaheen of the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights. “Sixty thousand people are dependent on [the fishing industry], and 85% of daily income has been lost.”
Fishermen on both sides of the three-mile limit, he said, were subjected to harassment, live fire, confiscation of boats and nets, and water cannon, sometimes impregnated with foul-smelling chemicals.
Since early June, a coalition of Palestinian and international organisations under the umbrella of Civil Peace Service Gaza has been monitoring encounters between fishermen and the Israeli military from its own boat, the Oliva.
But in the past fortnight, the Oliva itself has become a target for the Israeli navy, with repeated assaults on it by military vessels. Last Wednesday, the Guardian hired a boat to accompany the monitors plus a handful of hasakas out to sea.
At around the three-mile limit, the small flotilla was approached and repeatedly circled by two Israeli gunboats. The engines of the hasakas were cut as the waves caused by the gunboats’ backwash rose and fell. After about 20 minutes, the gunboats withdrew as a third military vessel, deploying water cannon, arrived.
A powerful jet of water was targeted at the Oliva, causing the boat to rock dangerously and drenching those aboard. After repeated dousings, the Oliva’s captain ordered the four passengers to clamber on to an adjacent hasaka, fearing his boat was about to sink. As the Oliva’s engine was hit by the military vessel, he too was forced to abandon ship.
From a distance it seemed impossible that the Oliva would not go under. But its captain and other fishermen managed to secure a rope to try to tow it back to port. The military boat followed the Oliva and the other boats at some speed, still firing its water cannon, for several minutes.
According to Salah Ammar, the Oliva’s captain, the boats were within the three-mile limit. “We don’t even reach two miles before they chase us with guns and water [cannon],” he said.
However, GPS co-ordinates taken by the Guardian during Wednesday’s encounter showed the position of the boats to be outside the permitted zone.
In a statement, the Israeli Defence Force said: “The ongoing hostilities between Israel and Palestinian terror organisations create significant security risks along the coast of the Gaza Strip. Due to these risks, fishing along the coasts has been restricted to a distance of three nautical miles from shore. Fishermen in Gaza are aware of these restrictions as they have been notified of them on numerous occasions. The restrictions and their enforcement by the Israel navy are in complete accordance with international law.”
The United Nations and human rights organisations say the fishing restriction is collective punishment in violation of international law.
Shaheen rejects Israel’s justification. “The Israeli navy has never found evidence that fishermen involved in violations have been involved weapons smuggling,” he said. The “environment of daily harassment” was part of Israel’s “illegal collective punishment and closure of Gaza”.
The Oliva’s engine was damaged in Wednesday’s encounter but Ammar was planning to go out to sea again the next day if he could locate the parts he needed to fix it. “Every time I know what will happen. They will shoot water on me, fire bullets. But I get hundreds of calls asking, ‘When will you go out?’” The fishermen, he says, want the protection they believe is afforded by the presence of international monitors on board the boat.
Asi, back at the port after his aborted fishing trip, was puzzled by the military’s aggression towards fisherman whose faces, he says, the soldiers must recognise after repeated encounters. “The point is not security for the Israelis. They know everything. They arrested many of us and searched many boats and never found anything.”
His morning’s haul consisted of one large sea bass, sold for 150 shekels, and three smaller, worthless fish. After deducting 50 shekels for fuel, 50 shekels for bait, and 10 shekels to put aside for his boat’s maintenance, he and his assistant pocketed 20 shekels (£3.60) each for their day’s work.
Would he be going out again the next day? “Inshallah [if God wills it]. This is the only source I have to feed my family.”

Updated on July 26, 2011

Escalation of attacks by the Israeli navy on the CPS Gaza boat

2011-07-24T06:21:00.000-07:00

23 July 2011 | Civil Peace Service Gaza

Footage of the second water-cannon attack by the Israeli navy against the Civil Peace Service Gaza boat “Oliva” on Thursday, July 14, 2011. The camera used was lost in the sea when the crew evacuated the “Oliva,” recovered in a fishing net, and returned on Wednesday, July 20.

Updated on July 24, 2011

PCHR weekly report 14/7 - 20/7/2011: 3 Palestinian fishing boats and 1 international boat damaged

2011-07-21T10:12:00.000-07:00

extracts from PCHR weekly report 14/7 - 20/7/2011:

Israeli gunboats opened fire at Palestinian fishing boats in the Gaza Strip.

During the reporting period, Israeli gunboats opened fire at Palestinian fishing boats in the Gaza Strip in two separate incidents. In one of these attacks, on 14 July 2011, Israeli gunboats attacked Palestinian fishing boats and an international boat, Oliva, which monitors Israeli attacked against Palestinian fishermen in the Gaza Strip. Three fishing boats and Oliva were damaged.

Thursday, 14 July 2011

At approximately 10:00, Israeli gunboats stationed opposite to Deir al-Balah seashore in the central Gaza Strip opened fire at Palestinian fishing boats that were accompanied by an international solidarity boat – Olivia. They also used water hoses against Olivia. As a result of these attacks, 3 Palestinian fishing boats that were sailing nearly 5 nautical miles offshore were damaged:

1. A boat belonging to Rajab Mohammed al-Hissi, from Gaza City;
2. A boat belonging to ‘Ali Mohammed Kabaja, from al-Shati refugee camp in Gaza City; and
3. A boat belonging to Sa’id Mohammed Abu Riala, from al-Shati refugee camp in Gaza City.

Saturday, 16 July 2011

At approximately 21:25, Israeli gunboats stationed opposite to Beit Lahia seashore in the northern Gaza Strip opened fire at Palestinian fishing boats. Palestinian fishermen were forced to sail back to the beach and no casualties were reported.

Human rights workers continues to face Israeli aggression in Gazan waters

2011-07-20T06:18:00.000-07:00

20 July 2011 | Civil Peace Service Gaza

The Israeli navy attacked Civil Peace Service Gaza volunteers along with international press and Palestinian fishermen today. One of the Israeli ships targeted the boats with high pressure water cannons.
Meanwhile, a small naval boat approached the Oliva and hit it from behind, stopping the boat and causing serious damage to the engine. The crew aboard the Oliva was evacuated to other boats and all the boats at sea were forced to turn back.
Joe Catron, an American human rights worker aboard the Oliva, stated, “Israel has been regularly attacking Palestinian fishermen within the purported 3 nautical mile fishing limit. The livelihood of many Gazans relies on fishing and Israel has been using live ammunition and water cannons to prevent fishermen from doing their work. We will continue to go out with the Palestinians and document human rights violations, despite the powerful threats we and Gazan fishermen face.”
This is the fourth attack on Oliva in less than two week. To watch and read recent reports in the news media about CPS Gaza, visit Al Jazeera and The Guardian.
Journalists and TV Crews are invited to join the CPSGaza boat.
Civil Peace Service Gaza is an international, third party, non-violent initiative to monitor potential human rights violations in Gazan territorial waters.

Updated on July 20, 2011

Gaza fishermen defy naval blockade

2011-07-20T06:13:00.000-07:00

20 July 2011 | Al Jazeera

Emboldened by the ‘Freedom Flotilla’s’ attempt to bring humanitarian aid to Gaza by sea, some Gazan fishermen have been trying to sail beyond the three nautical mile limit imposed by Israel.
The Oslo Accords allowed fishermen to work within 20 nautical miles of the coast, but Israel later reduced the limit on the premise that allowing more space will potentially allow Gazans to receive smuggled weapons.
Israel responds to the fishers’ actions with water cannons, and sometimes with live gunfire.
Al Jazeera’s Nicole Johnston reports from Gaza.

Updated on July 20, 2011

A plea to cease attack met with threats of violence at sea

2011-07-18T06:07:00.000-07:00

14 July 2011 | International Solidarity Movement, Gaza

Following yesterday’s assault by the Israeli navy upon a trawler observing Israeli aggression in the three mile fishing radius along the Gaza coast, today warships again targeted two US observers and their Palestinian captain and threatened them that their next attempt at sailing would be fatal.
Alexandra Robinson, from Los Angeles, California, and Joe Catron of Queen Heights, Brooklyn, New York, are both participants in the Civil Peace Service of Gaza. They accompanied a Palestinian captain at approximately 7:30am this morning. “They often harass people within the three mile limit. We were actually setting out to follow a boat that was previous harassed,” said Robinson. International presence has helped deter abuse and harassment by Israeli navy. Upon sailing in a small trawler, 5 large Palestinian fishing boats were visible by Robinson, with 25 smaller ones also in plain sight. Within a half hour the crew saw warships approaching them with active water cannons about 20 meters away from the boat. According to Catron at 8:15 AM, the small boat was being circled by the warships with only about a distance of 10 meters between them. “The attack was pretty immediate,” said Catron. “They were very close and began to fire their water cannons at very high velocity.”
Robinson said they tried to withstand the power of the cannons, taking the brunt of the force with their turned backs. Catron also noticed about half a dozen visible navy personnel, some with guns aimed. “They also had one live ammunition cannon” that was revolving and aiming at the trawler, said Robinson. The warships were close enough to hear its crew when fire ceased at intervals, explained the internationals. “We shouted, ‘We are Americans, stop shooting,” but the crew was forced to abandon ship. A fishing boat had managed to come near the two observers and their captain, rescuing them. The fishing boat had several children on board, and the volunteers continued to plea with the navy. “We heard one of the officers on the warship respond, ‘Whether children or American, we will shoot,’ said Robinson.
While a member of the fishing boat rescued the trawler to take back to port, the captain of the trawler overheard one of the commanding officers speak orders to sink his trawler.
The warships followed the fishing boat for about an hour and a half, circling it so it was difficult for them to navigate to the coast. In a very clear threat made to the members of the trawler, a member of one of the warships was heard by all witnesses warning them to not sail as observers. The clear threat against both Palestinians and international observers was heard after an navy officer shouted over amplifier, “If you come back here, we will shoot you.” Passengers described the officers of the warship taunting them, questioning if they had caught any fish while emphasizing their threat.
Robinson and Catron, however, show no signs of absorbing the threat as influencing their future actions following the attack. “Friday is a day of rest here, but we will sail Saturday,” said Catron. “And this time we will take the media with us.” Yet Robinson does foresee an increase in Israeli incitement in the seas. “Our presence was effective in making Israeli’s leave the fishermen alone. But now that things have died down with the flotilla, they are starting to target us. We think it is only going to get worse from here.”
Today’s attack against the trawler comes following an attack yesterday against a British and Swedish observer who were accompanied by a Palestinian captain and a Palestinian civilian. No one was injured in either attack.
According to Palestine Human Rights Center, which condemned both attacks, of 20 nautical miles, Israeli navy often enforces between 1.5 – 2 nautical miles. The marine ‘buffer zone’ restricts Gazan fishermen from accessing 85% of Gaza’s fishing waters as agreed to in the Oslo Accords.

Updated on July 18, 2011

PCHR weekly report 7/7 - 13/7/2011: 4 attacks opposite Beit Lahia

2011-07-14T09:44:00.000-07:00

extracts from PCHR weekly report 7/7 - 13/7/2011:

Israeli gunboats opened fire at Palestinian fishing boats in the Gaza Strip.

Saturday, 09 July 2011

At approximately 05:30, Israeli gunboats stationed opposite to Beit Lahia seashore in the northern Gaza Strip opened fire at Palestinian fishing boats. Palestinian fishermen were forced to sail back to the beach and no casualties were reported.

Tuesday, 12 July 2011

At approximately 21:30, Israeli gunboats stationed opposite to Beit Lahia seashore in the northern Gaza Strip opened fire at Palestinian fishing boats. Palestinian fishermen were forced to sail back to the beach. No casualties were reported.

Wednesday, 13 July 2011

At approximately 05:00, Israeli gunboats stationed opposite to Beit Lahia seashore in the northern Gaza Strip opened fire at Palestinian fishing boats. Palestinian fishermen were forced to sail back to the beach. No casualties were reported.

At approximately 08:30, Israeli gunboats stationed opposite to Beit Lahia seashore in the northern Gaza Strip opened fire at Palestinian fishing boats. Palestinian fishermen were forced to sail back to the beach. No casualties were reported.

CPS: Israeli ship attacks international solidarity boat crew off Gaza coast

2011-07-14T05:50:00.000-07:00

14 July 2011 | Hama Waqum, Civil Peace Service Gaza

I am writing this exactly twelve hours after I was attacked by an Israeli warship, off the Gaza coast.
As a member of the Civil Peace Service, I board the Oliva boat around twice a week to monitor Gazan fishermen’s human rights. But today, it wasn’t just the fishermen who were targeted.
We approached a cluster of hasaka fishing boats that were being attacked with water cannons at midday on July 13. As we got closer all I could focus on was the officer manning the machine gun, covered from head to toe with black, which struck me as very medieval, if you know what I mean.
Our boat, along with the fishing vessels, was around two miles out to sea, well within the three-mile fishing limit imposed by Israel. We saw marines congregate on deck to watch as the water cannon was angled slowly but deliberately towards us. To my delight they struggled against the wind initially, but eventually managed to angle round us as we fumbled with the water-logged engine. I took one look at the jet being generated vertically and knew what was coming. Sure enough, pellets of water began to rain down on us with stinging force. Then I, camera in one hand, felt the jet stream slap my face directly, staying there for several seconds, before the boat was yanked away by the fishermen around us. I was flung backwards and words I never utter escaped my lips. Struggling to stay up, I forced myself to take it on the chin. Literally. As the assault continued, they repeatedly aimed at my face and each time my nose, eyes and mouth filled with seawater. At one point I even saw a naval officer indicate to the marine controlling the cannon to aim for me. He gleefully obliged.

Israeli naval water cannons are able reach high into the air; even when fired vertically they can reach about four times the height of the gunboat. This warship was about 10 metres away. Imagine someone boxing your face. Imagine that their fist is larger than a bowling ball. Now imagine that punch lasting for ten minutes. This is what it felt like.
For ten minutes we were pursued as we tried to escape the gunboat. There were several fishing boats around us and, if there is a silver lining, it is that our presence distracted the Navy from attacking them.
Our boat began to fill with water and we struggled, along with the fishing boats around us to return to shore. Even as we picked up speed, the gunboat honed in on us, with relentless attack after attack. Eventually at just over one mile off the Gaza shore, the gunboat lagged behind and we were on the home straight.
We were completely drenched through. Our captain had to order us to corners of the boat, worried it was about to capsize or sink from all the water with which it had been filled. My body started to buzz and I’m surprised I didn’t electrocute everyone with the static that was building in my bloodstream. The fishermen were safe, we escaped and I felt like we had won. Even though rinsing my mouth with the salinated Gazan water to make wudu that evening brought my brain right back to gargling waterjets on the Oliva boat, the footage is gold dust and we refused to cower from their water-taunting and domination.
Although the attack was challenging for those of us who experienced it, it is essential to remember that this an everyday occurrence for Gazan fishermen. Earlier that very day, the boat of one fisherman was shot at repeatedly. There were too many bullet holes in the bow of his boat for me to count. His netting cables were shot through and he lost his catch. I’m sure he must have been fishing for grenades or something, right? Whereas I returned to shore simply with a stinging face and drenched clothes, when fishermen are attacked, they are unable to make their living. For the one attack on CPS Gaza, there have been tens if not hundreds of attacks on fishing boats.
International observers of Gaza are being targeted evermore frequently, as witnessed with the sabotage and interception of the 2nd flotilla fleet. Such attacks prevent those who have easier access to the world beyond the siege from witnessing attacks on Gazan civilians. These are the actions of a nation that has something to hide.
Human rights volunteers will continue to monitor violations, regardless of what the Israeli Navy fires at us, not only because we aren’t doing anything wrong, but because we know, and I mean this graciously, we are doing what is right and is what no authority is willing to do: ensuring that when fishermen are shot and attacked, somebody is there to witness and document it. Not everyone is able to get to Gaza, so hopefully the video footage and this account will help to bring Gaza to you.

Hama Waqum is a volunteer for CPS Gaza, she writes in a personal capacity and tweets at @WelshinGaza.

Updated on July 14, 2011

CPS Gaza crew attacked by Israeli warship

2011-07-13T05:45:00.000-07:00

13 July 2011 | Civil Peace Service Gaza

For Immediate Release

Israeli naval forces attacked the Civil Peace Service Gaza monitoring boat with water cannons earlier today.
Civil Peace Service Gaza is an international third party non-violent initiative to monitor potential human rights violations in Gazan territorial waters.
The initial attack happened at 12.05pm local time. There were four people aboard the Oliva boat at the time, two CPS Gaza crew members (from the UK and Sweden), the captain and a journalist.

British human rights worker Ruqaya Al-Samarrai stated: “We were fewer than two miles away from the Gaza coast when they fired at us. We saw them firing water at some fishing boats so we headed to the area. When we got close, the warships left the fishing boats, and turned on us. They attacked us for about ten minutes, following us as we tried to head to shore and eventually lagged when we reached about one mile off the Gaza coast.”
A fishing boat was also fired at and damaged with live rounds. Currently Israel claims to allow fishing boats to work within three miles off the coast of Gaza, but the limit is rarely respected and fishermen as close as 1.5 nautical miles are regularly targeted.

: Israeli naval forces attack Oliva

: Israeli forces use water cannon

Civil Peace Service Gaza to hold press conference following attack from Israeli naval forces
Photos and video available upon request, email press@cpsgaza.org

When: 13 July 2011, 9pm local time
Where: Fishing port, Gaza
Who: Ruqaya Al-Samarrai, British human rights worker for Civil Peace Service Gaza
Khalil Shaheen, Palestinian Center for Human Rights
Mahfouz Kabiriti, President of Palestine Association for Fishing and Marine Sports
What: Key members of the Civil Peace Service initiative to monitor human rights violations in Gazan territorial waters will speak about today’s attack from Israeli armed naval forces.

Background
Restrictions on the fishing zone are of comparable significance to Palestinian livelihood. Initially 20 nautical miles, it is presently often enforced between 1.5 – 2 nautical miles (PCHR: 2010). The marine ‘buffer zone’ restricts Gazan fishermen from accessing 85% of Gaza’s fishing waters agreed to by Oslo.
During the Oslo Accords, specifically under the Gaza-Jericho Agreement of 1994, representatives of Palestine agreed to 20 nautical miles for fishing access. In 2002 the UN Secretary General Kofi Annan empowered Catherine Bertini to negotiate with Israel on key issues regarding the humanitarian crisis in the Occupied Palestinian Territories and a 12 nautical mile fishing limit was agreed upon. In June 2006, following the capture of the Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit near the crossing of Kerem Abu Salem (Kerem Shalom), the navy imposed a complete sea blockade for several months. When the complete blockade was finally lifted, Palestinian fishermen found that a 6 nautical mile limit was being enforced. When Hamas gained political control of the Gaza Strip, the limit was reduced to 3 nautical miles. During the massive assault on the Strip in 2008-2009, a complete blockade was again declared. After Operation Cast Lead, the Israeli army began imposing a 1.5 – 2 nautical miles (PCHR: 2010).
The fishing community is often similarly targeted as the farmers in the ‘buffer zone’ and the fishing limit is enforced with comparable aggression, with boats shot at or rammed as near as 2nm to the Gazan coast by Israeli gunboats.
The fishermen have been devastated, directly affecting an estimated 65,000 people and reducing the catch by 90%. The coastal areas are now grossly over-fished and 2/3 of fishermen have left the industry since 2000 (PCHR: 2009). Recent statistics of the General Union of Fishing Workers indicate that the direct losses since the second Intifada in September 2000 were estimated at a million dollars and the indirect losses were estimated at 13.25 million dollars during the same period. The 2009 fishing catch amounted to a total of 1,525 metric tones, only 53 percent of the amount during 2008 (2,845 metric tones) and 41 percent of the amount in 1999 (3,650 metric tones), when the fishermen of Gaza could still fish up to ten nautical miles from the coast. Current figures indicate that during 2010 the decline in the fishing catch continues. This has caused an absurd arrangement to become standard practice. The fisherman sail out not to fish, but to buy fish off of Egyptian boats and then sell this fish in Gaza. According to the Fishermen’s Union, a monthly average of 105 tons of fish has been entering Gaza through the tunnels since the beginning of 2010 (PCHR 2009).

Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR). “The Buffer Zone in the Gaza Strip.” Oct. 2010. http://www.pchrgaza.org/facts/factsheet-bufferzone-aug.pdf

Palestinian Centre for Human Rights. “A report on: Israeli Attacks on Palestinian Fishers in the Gaza Strip.” August 2009. http://www.pchrgaza.org/files/Reports/English/pdf_spec/fishermen3.pdf

Updated on July 13, 2011

EI: Solidarity at sea on board the Oliva

2011-07-13T05:35:00.000-07:00

12 July 2011 | Rana Baker, Electronic Intifada

Journalists and CPSGaza activists aboard the Oliva as it sets out on its first mission (Rana Baker)

For years, Palestinian fishermen have been subject to routine attacks, shootings and arrests by the Israeli navy as they attempt to ply their trade in the seas off the coast of Gaza.
A month ago, Oliva, the first boat to monitor human rights violations in the Palestinian territorial waters, was launched. The project was organized by the Civil [Peace] Service Gaza (CPSGaza – CPSgaza.org) in cooperation with the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights, the Popular Struggle Coordination Committee, the Union of Agricultural Work Committees and Fishing and Marine Sports Association.
Mahfouz al-Kabariti, the president of the Fishing and Marine Sports Association, explained to The Electronic Intifada how the idea of this monitoring boat came to life.
“In the beginning, many international activists escorted Palestinian fishermen on six-mile voyages to break the siege enforced on the fishing area until Israel began sending waves of aggression against the fishermen and the international activists themselves. They arrested them and deported the activists,” he said.
Fishing boats were usually impounded for two to three months, al-Kabariti explained, “So we came up with the idea of establishing an independent boat entrusted to observe human rights violations and to help the Palestinian fishermen in cases of sabotage or accidents. We thought that having a civic, peaceful boat crewed by international observes will carry out the mission of documenting violations of human rights.”
According to the 1994 Oslo Accords, Palestinian territorial waters for the purposes of economic activity extend to twenty nautical miles offshore. However, Israel continues to break most, if not all, of the agreements between the Palestinian Authority and the Israeli government, and between Israel and the international community.

Attacks by the Israeli navy

In fact, the twenty nautical-mile fishing area was unilaterally reduced by Israel to just three nautical miles in 2008, only exacerbating the crisis in yet another sector of the already-exhausted Gaza economy. This reduced the quantity of fish available to be caught by fishermen. Not only have the fishermen been deprived of their livelihoods, but they are also constantly attacked and arrested by the Israeli Navy, which frequently confiscates or deliberately damages fishing boats and other property.
The fishing industry is a main source of living in Gaza. A high percentage of the Gazan population depends on it to feed and shelter their families. However, the Israeli government, which claimed to have “disengaged” from Gaza in 2005, still controls exports, imports, movement and access to what are supposed to be Palestinian territorial waters.
One fisherman who gave his last name as Bakr but chose not to provide his first name, was inside the three-mile offshore limit when he was shot twice in is leg almost three months ago.
“We were just two miles offshore; not even three as the Israelis want,” he told The Electronic Intifada. “We heard the sirens of their gunboats so we knew there was something wrong and we turned off the engine. They came across and fired at us. When my cousin took off his shirt to wrap my leg, they knew someone was injured and went away.”
Another fisherman, Omar Bakr, was arrested by Israeli forces. “A while ago, the israelis arrested me and impounded my boat,” he said. “I was asked about the purpose of my voyage and they suspected I was smuggling something.”
With these sorts of routine attacks, almost unnoticed by the rest of the world, there is a clear impetus for an independent human rights monitoring project on the seas.

Practical support and a symbol of Palestinian heritage

Oliva, the monitoring boat, is identifiable and can be clearly distinguished from boats used by the fishermen. Small and white it is 7.4 meters long. It has the CPSGaza logo painted on its body and a flag carrying the same logo. It is crewed by international observers, many of whom are activists with the International Solidarity Movement (ISM).
The name Oliva was chosen for its strong roots in the 63-year-old Palestinian struggle against the Israeli occupation. Joe Catron, an activist with the ISM, told The Electronic Intifada that the group “envisioned the olive as a symbol of Palestinian heritage and struggle.” Catron added that the name of the boat was supported by the group’s co-founder, Vittorio Arrigoni, who was kidnapped and murdered in Gaza in April.

The first mission

The first real mission (a symbolic launch had been done in April) was carried out on 8 June. At 9:15 in the morning, Oliva set sail from the aging port of Gaza. It was followed by three boats with journalists and TV correspondents on board.
As part of the land team, this writer had to stay in a small office and maintain the connection with the crew. We would ask them at least every ten minutes to specify their position and report the situation. At 10:24am they were two miles south of the port, among half a dozen fishing boats. An Israeli gunship was visible but neither calls to retreat nor firing incidents were reported.
At three nautical miles out to sea, things remained calm except for a few number of gunships roaming the sea to demonstrate their control of the waters. The mission ended at 10:55am

Israeli reaction “muted”

The Israeli navy did not fire at the fishermen when Oliva accompanied them, which indicated the success of the first mission. The same scenario occured on other occasions the fishing boats were escorted by Oliva. The standard number of activists aboard the boat is two, in addition to one Palestinian captain.
Catron, who is most often one of the two activists aboard, says that “the Israeli reaction so far has been muted.”
“We have received no direct threats,” he added, “but when we are at sea, the Israeli navy will frequently come onto our civilian radio frequencies and converse with each other in English. I find it hard to believe they would do that under normal circumstances. Presumably, they do it to remind us of their presence.”
But how will international observers react if Israeli naval forces commit any violent action against the fishermen?
“Our first reaction would be to inform them that their actions violated international humanitarian law. From there, we would proceed depending on their reaction, and according to the exact circumstances. For example, we would draft a brief report on the facts of the incident. This will be published, widely distributed, and analyzed by our coalition partners for advocacy efforts and possible legal action,” Catron explained.

“I feel very comfortable when Oliva escorts us”

Such violent action took place on 29 June when the Israeli gunboats shot at the fishing boats in the presence of Oliva. Oliva was escorting a number of fishing boats in an attempt to break the three-mile siege when Israeli warships appeared to be closer than usual. They began with shooting in the water and ended with riddling the boats — though not the Oliva. This account was provided to this writer by an ISM activist, though nothing else has been published about it.
Despite those sporadic assaults even when Oliva escorts his boat, fisherman Jalal Bakr still thinks the project can protect hundreds of fishermen like him.
“When Oliva comes along, we can fish beyond three miles. The Israelis would usually roam around, but not fire. I feel very comfortable when Oliva escorts us,” he said.
Mahfouz al-Kabariti, the head of the fisherman’s association, told The Electronic Intifada while gazing at the sea: “Oliva was a result of a collective effort. Let me name it Oliva One because one boat is not enough and we look forward to developing more boats.”

Rana Baker, 19, is a student of business administration and a member of the Gaza-based BDS organizing committee. Rana’s blog is ranabaker.wordpress.com and she can be followed on twitter at: @RanaGaza.

Updated on July 13, 2011

PCHR weekly report 30/6 - 6/7/2011: 2 attacks, 1 boat damaged

2011-07-07T09:30:00.000-07:00

extracts from PCHR weekly report 30/6 - 6/7/2011:

Israeli gunboats opened fire at Palestinian fishing boats in the Gaza Strip.
- A fishing boat was damaged.

During the reporting period, Israeli gunboats opened fire at Palestinian fishing boats in the Gaza Strip in two separate incidents. In one of these attacks, a Palestinian fishing boat was damaged.

Monday, 04 July 2011

At approximately 06:40, Israeli gunboats stationed opposite to Beit Lahia seashore in the northern Gaza Strip fired bullets and a number of shells at Palestinian fishing boats. Palestinian fishermen were forced to flee towards the beach. A boat belonging to Mohammed ‘Abdul Raziq Baker, from Gaza City, was damaged.

Tuesday, 05 July 2011

At approximately 07:00, Israeli gunboats stationed opposite to Beit Lahia seashore in the northern Gaza Strip opened fire at Palestinian fishing boats. Palestinian fishermen were forced to flee towards the beach and neither damage nor casualties were reported.

Children rally for Flotilla in Gaza port

2011-07-03T05:26:00.000-07:00

2 July 2011 | International Solidarity Movement, Gaza

Dozens of children from the Beit Hanoun Local Initiative’s summer camp, “Vittorio Arrigoni – Stay Human,” rallied in the port of Gaza today to support Freedom Flotilla – Stay Human, and demand free passage and international protection for it.
They were joined by Palestinian and international supporters, including the International Solidarity Movement – Gaza Strip. After gathering on the pier, they took to the sea in boats, decorated with the flags of countries participating in the Flotilla, for a spirited rally in the harbor.
“We call this action in the sea a human message, a message for the people who carry the idea of breaking the siege of Gaza,” said Beit Hanoun Local Initiative coordinator Saber Al Zaaneen. “We are very sorry to hear of obstructions by the Greek government, and stand with Flotilla participants against them.”

Updated on July 3, 2011

PCHR weekly report 23/6 - 29/6/2011: 2 attacks, 2 fishermen abducted, 1 boat damaged

2011-06-30T09:12:00.000-07:00

extracts from PCHR weekly report 23/6 - 29/6/2011:

Israeli gunboats opened fire at Palestinian fishing boats in the Gaza Strip.
- A fishing boat was damaged, and IOF arrested two fishermen, but released them later.

During the reporting period, Israeli gunboats opened fire at Palestinian fishing boats in the Gaza Strip in two separate incidents. In one of these attacks, a Palestinian fishing boat was damaged. IOF also arrested two fishermen, but released them later.

Thursday, 23 June 2011

At approximately 06:00, Israeli gunboats opened fire at a Palestinian fishing boat opposite to Rafah seashore in the southern Gaza Strip. Mohammed Mohammed al-Bardawil, 22, and his brother Isma’il, 18, were on board of the boat, which was sailing nearly 2.8 nautical miles off the beach. The motor of the boat was destroyed and the boat itself was damaged. Israeli naval troop forced the two fishermen to jump into water and swim towards an Israeli gunboats. The two fishermen were taken to the Israeli Ashdod Harbor, where they were interrogated by an Israeli naval officer. They were released at approximately 19:00 on the same day.

Sunday, 26 June 2011

At approximately 07:00, Israeli gunboats stationed opposite to Beit Lahia seashore in the northern Gaza Strip opened fire at Palestinian fishing boats. Palestinian fishermen were forced to flee, and no casualties were reported.

PCHR weekly report 16/6 - 22/6/2011: 3 attacks, 2 boats damaged by gunfire

2011-06-23T08:59:00.000-07:00

extracts from PCHR weekly report 16/6 - 22/6/2011:

Israeli gunboats opened fire at Palestinian fishing boats in the Gaza Strip.
- Two fishing boats were damaged.

During the reporting period, Israeli gunboats opened fire at Palestinian fishing boats in the Gaza Strip in 3 separate incidents. In one of these attacks, two Palestinian fishing boats were damaged.

Friday, 17 June 2011

At approximately 20:40, Israeli gunboats stationed opposite to Beit Lahia seashore in the northern Gaza Strip opened fire at Palestinian fishing boats. No casualties were reported.

Saturday, 18 June 2011

At approximately 00:35, Israeli gunboats stationed opposite to Beit Lahia seashore in the northern Gaza Strip opened fire at Palestinian fishing boats. No casualties were reported.

Tuesday, 21 June 2011

At approximately 10:00, Israeli gunboats station opposite to Gaza seashore opened fire at a fishing boat belonging to Nasser Suleiman Baker, 24, from al-Shati refugee camp, west of Gaza City. The boat was sailing nearly two nautical miles away from the beach. Baker, his two brothers, Ahmed and Jalal, and their cousin, Jouhar, were on board of the boat. The motor of the boat was damaged. Another boat belonging to Mohammed Subhi Baker, on board of which were 5 fishermen, came to offer help to the affected boat, but Israeli gunboats opened fire at it damaging its motor also. Many fishing boats gathered and fishermen were able to pull the two damaged boats to the beach.

Two fishing boats shot off Gaza coast

2011-06-21T15:32:00.000-07:00

21 June 2011 | International Solidarity Movement

At around 9am on June 21, two fishing boats were attacked by the Israeli Navy, with bullets piercing both engines, rendering them unusable.
The first boat was shot at in the motor, at the rear end and, when the 4-man crew took cover at the front of the boat, away from the shots directed at the motor, the front of the boat was fired upon.
Yaser Baker is one of the four fishermen who were aboard the first boat which was shot. “We were at around two and a half miles out to sea when they shot at our engine and it broke. We stopped the boat and all moved to the front, away from the engine so that we wouldn’t get hit. Then they shot at the front, right at us, the bullets just missing our bodies and one landed right by my leg.”
A second boat, manned by Mohammed Bakri Sabir came to assist the first, but was also attacked, both in the engine and the front of the boat, where the crew was taking cover.
Aboard the second boat were three fishermen and two of their children, aged nine and ten years old.
The boats managed to escape when around twenty other local fishing boats surrounded them and escorted them back to shore as the nine-year-old feigned an injury. “He had to play dead,” Baker explained, “it was the only way we could get them to stop firing.”

PCHR weekly report 9/6 - 15/6/2011: attack opposite Beit Lahia

2011-06-16T08:53:00.000-07:00

extracts from PCHR weekly report 9/6 - 15/6/2011

IOF fired at Palestinian fishing boats in the Gaza Strip.

Saturday, 11 June 2011

At approximately 22:00, Israeli gunboats stationed opposite to Beit Lahia seashore in the northern Gaza Strip opened fire at Palestinian fishing boats. They also fired flash bombs over the area. Palestinian fishermen were forced to flee and no casualties were reported.

Fishing Under Fire

2011-06-12T12:02:00.000-07:00

By Eva Bartlett

Gaza harbour, as seen from a destroyed boat.
Credit:Eva Bartlett/IPS.
Buy this picture

GAZA CITY, Jun 12, 2011 (IPS) - In Gaza's main port, beyond the newly-built memorial to the Freedom Flotilla martyrs, Gaza's fishermen prepare to go out trawling at shallow depths in Palestinian waters. Other fishers stay on land to mend nets and fix boats damaged or destroyed by Israeli navy gunfire, shelling, water cannoning and even ramming. Such moves as the opening of Rafah have done nothing for Gaza's fishermen.

Mahfouz Kabariti, president of Gaza's Fishing and Marine Sports Association points out recently damaged boats.

Tracings in the sand reveal where a damaged hassaka (a small speedboat or smaller hand-paddled boat) sat for repairs from an Israeli navy machine gun assault on Jun. 1 this year. "There were 25 bullets in both sides of the boat, as well as one in the engine," Kabarati says. "Two fishermen work from it, Ramadan Zidan, 51, and his son Mohammed, 20. They weren't even out at sea, they were just beyond the harbour."

Down the sandy road to the dock for larger fishing boats, Farej, 23, stands aboard a larger, roofless fishing trawler, the detached roof splayed across a port wall opposite the boat.

"Our nets were in the water when the Israeli gun boat came at us," says Farej, one of the fishermen on board the trawler less than three miles off Gaza's coast when assaulted by the Israeli navy on May 26.

"The Israeli soldiers shot at our nets which we tried to pull in," he says, noting that the severed nets disappeared into the sea. "Then they rammed our boat, knocking the roof off."

With ample deck space for pulling in catches and sorting the fish for storage, most Palestinian fishing trawlers are between 15 to 20 metres, with a steel "umbrella" over the work area. "The roof fell down on my brother Raed, but we couldn't reach him to help him. The Israelis kept firing on us and on the area of the fallen roof," Farej says.

"They kept threatening to take us to Ashdod," he says. "They kept cursing at us and taunting us."

While Raed, 28, survived the attack with a broken leg and injured back, Farej worries how his brother will feed his five children while incapacitated.

"I was studying business management at university," Farej says. "I had to quit because I couldn't afford the fees and we need my income to feed our families."

Sufyan, 43, works on the same trawler. "Just the day before that we were water cannoned by the Israelis," he says. "They doused us with high-powered water for about 30 minutes, broke our GPS system and ruined anything electrical on board. We were only three miles off the coast."

Under the Oslo accords, Palestinian fishermen have the right to fish 20 nautical miles off the Gazan coast. This limit has been unilaterally micro-sized by the Israeli navy by lethal imposition via gunfire, shelling and water-cannoning. A year ago fishermen scarcely caught any fish when just six miles out. The prospects for catching fish are all the more dire at the new insufficient three-mile limit.

On the evening of May 30, Ragab Hissy's 15.5 metre trawler was again attacked by Israeli water cannoning, gunfire and ramming. "They water cannoned us so strongly and for so long that we hid inside, under the deck," says a 32-year-old fisherman who gives his name as M. "While we were hiding, the Israeli gunboat rammed us." He points out a newly-replaced slot of wood in the boat's hull and a dent in the steel framing the hull where the Israeli gunboat rammed his trawler. "The Israeli soldiers were shouting at us, swearing at us and cursing Islam," he says. "We were less than three miles out from this port. The Israelis accused us of waiting to go out further at night. They told us, 'you have to go back to 2.5 miles from the coast so that you don't cross three miles’," M says.

"Since 2005 we have had serious problems from the Israelis while fishing," says Sufyan Koolah, from the same trawler. "This trawler was badly damaged in 2007 by Israeli gunfire. It cost roughly 20,000 dollars to repair it. During 2008 we lost much of our fishing equipment and nets to Israeli attacks."

A father of ten, with three children in university, Koolah will be out of work for the next two months, the amount of time he says it will take to repair the trawler. "Seventeen people work on this boat and will be out of an income, not just me and my family."

Families like Koolah's, Abu Ouda's, Hissy's and the countless other nameless of Gaza's roughly 4,000 fishermen face unprovoked Israeli navy assaults on a daily basis but continue to trawl the waters for food and income for their families.

"Three miles is too shallow. People swim at three miles. We need to be able to fish like we did in the past, beyond ten miles and up to 20 miles," says M, the fisherman on Hissy's boat.

Catches these days are neutered versions of Palestinian fishermen's former hauls. Unable to breech three miles, Gaza's fishermen are left to harvest undersized fish seeped in the pollution of Gaza's sewage run-off. The greater numbers and quality of fish lie at least six miles out.

"Between March and June, large schools of sardines migrate through Palestinian waters over ten miles out," says Nizar Ayash, director of Gaza's Fishing Syndicate. "They are abundant in number, all fishermen can benefit, and they were traditionally Gaza's cheapest source of quality protein."

In a May 2011 report, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) cites poverty among Gaza's fishermen at 90 percent, the poorest earning less than 100 dollars per month, an increase of 40 percent from 2008.

"In the last five years, at least seven fishermen have been killed by the Israeli navy," Nizar Ayash says, estimating tens more have been injured and over 300 arrested while fishing in Palestinian waters. "But they will keep fishing, they have no choice." (END)

Israeli occupation navy boats fire at Palestinian fishermen off the coast of Rafa

2011-06-10T02:05:00.000-07:00

[ 10/06/2011 - 09:35 PM ]

RAFAH, (PIC) Israeli occupation naval boats opened fire on Thursday evening at Palestinian fishing boats off the southern Gaza Strip Rafah coast.
Palestinian naval police in the Gaza Strip said that the Israeli boats opened machinegun fire at the fishing boats forcing the Palestinian fishermen to flee to the shores, no casualties among the fishermen were reported.
Palestinian fishermen in the Gaza Strip face daily harassment from the Israeli occupation navy which does not allow them to go beyond 3 miles off the coast of Gaza and harasses them even within this Zone, often firing at or ramming their boats and sometimes arresting them.

Gaza activists: Monitoring boat to sail Wednesday

2011-06-08T01:11:00.000-07:00

BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- The first monitoring boat in Gaza waters crewed by international citizens will set sail on Wednesday morning, activists said.

The vessel, named Oliva, will leave from Gaza City fishing port with crew from Spain, the US, Sweden and the UK, and accompany Gaza fisherman in the waters, organizers said in a statement released Tuesday.

"Violations of international law will be monitored, documented, and disseminated," the release from the Civil Peace Service said.

The organization said the initiative is in cooperation with local groups including the Palestinian Center for Human Rights, the Popular Struggle Coordination Committees, the Union of Agriculture Committees and Fishing and Marine Sports Association.

Israeli military vessels monitor the Gaza coast and enforcing a fishing limit of three nautical miles and blockade of the Gaza Strip, with fishermen reporting fire, boat confiscations and detentions by the navy.

Last Wednesday, fishermen said one skiff was hit by an Israeli ship and sunk, injuring a fisherman, off the southern Gaza coast.

Gaza fishermen: Israeli navy hit skiff, 1 injured

2011-06-02T17:13:00.000-07:00

GAZA CITY (Ma'an) -- Gaza fishermen said one skiff was hit and sunk Wednesday night by an Israeli naval boat off the Rafah coast.

Fisherman Ahmad Abu Salmiyeh, 20, was injured after sinking with his boat following the collision, which took place near Tal As-Sultan in the southern Gaza Strip, his colleagues told Ma'an.

A group of fellow fishers rushed out to rescue him, Ma'an's correspondent reported.

An Israeli military spokesman said the army was not familiar with the incident, and denied that the navy sank a boat or caused injuries.

Israeli military ships patrol Gaza's Mediterranean shore, enforcing a 3-mile fishing limit and blockade on the strip, with fishermen reporting fire, boat confiscations and detentions by the navy.

Israeli gunboat chases Palestinian fishing boat

[ 02/06/2011 - 09:01 AM ]

RAFAH, (PIC)-- An Israeli gunboat attacked a Palestinian fishing boat off the Rafah coast, south of the Gaza Strip, on Wednesday evening, local sources said.
They added that the Palestinian fishing boat capsized and that a 20-year-old fisherman on board had almost drowned as a result.
The sources said that the 20-year-old fishermen Ahmed Abu Salima was saved by a number of other fishermen at sea.

Israeli gunboat fires on fishermen in Gazan waters

2011-06-01T01:36:00.000-07:00

1 June 2011 | International Solidarity Movement, Gaza

Ramadan Zidan, 51, and his son Mohamed, 20 set sail from the harbor in Gaza at seven in the morning, they didn’t plan to go far, only to fish outside of the harbor. For an hour and half everything went well, it was a beautiful morning and they still hoped to have a successful day of fishing. When the Israeli gunboat first started to approach them at eight thirty a.m. they thought nothing of it, they were close to the port, nowhere near the Israeli imposed three mile limit on Palestinian fisherman. Unexpectedly the gunboat started to shoot around their boat. The boat wasn’t hit, and the gunboat left the area, so the men went back to fishing. Then they saw the gunboat turn around and come at them again. It opened fire on the boat again; the front of their boat was hit several times with bullets. The gunboat then told the men that they were under arrest. Fearing that after confiscating the boat the Israeli’s would either damage the boat while it was in Ashdod, as routinely happens to the seized boats of Palestinian fisherman, or even worse refuse to return the boat, the fisherman started the engine and began to return to port. The gunboat shot the engine of the boat, but miraculously the engine didn’t stop working and the fisherman made it safely back to port despite the shell in the engine and the many bullet holes in their ship. They hope to return to fishing soon, they have no other way to support their families.

Medics: 3 hurt after navy shells fishing boat

2011-05-27T17:47:00.000-07:00

GAZA CITY (Ma’an) -- Israel's navy fired on fishing boats late Thursday, injuring three Palestinians, medics said.

The fishermen were transferred to Ash-Shifa hospital for treatment of moderate injuries, medical official Adham Abu Silmiya said.

An Israeli military spokeswoman said the army had no record of such an event.

Fishermen in Gaza are calling for protection after four years of siege.

At a sit-in Thursday in Gaza's port, a group of fishermen rejected Israel's blockade policy, which for four years has limited their ships to the near coast at risk of being fired upon.

The sea off Gaza has been mostly off limits since June 2006 when Israel imposed a tight blockade on the territory after militants there snatched Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, who is still being held.

The blockade was tightened a year later when the Islamist Hamas movement seized control of the territory, ousting forces loyal to the Western-backed Palestinian Authority.

Israel took steps to ease the measure last summer following a wave of international pressure after its troops staged a botched raid on an aid flotilla which was trying to break the embargo, killing nine Turkish activists.

On Thursday, fishermen appealed to the UN and human rights organizations to end the naval siege and pressure Israel to increase the area of fishing as well as "bring Israel into account for its crimes."

Mohammad Al-Hisi, one of the fishermen, told Ma'an that "the occupation's forces destroyed my small boat, which I depend on for my livelihood. And no one cares. I just want my livelihood."

The fishermen say they want international protection against Israeli attacks at sea.

Mustafa Al-Jarbu, another protester, explained that the sit-in was in protest of the "vicious acts" carried out by the Israeli army against fishermen, which have injured hundreds and killed dozens.

Three Gaza fishermen wounded after their boat was attacked off Khan Younis

[ 27/05/2011 - 09:22 PM ]

KHAN YOUNIS, (PIC)-- The crew of a fishing boat survived an attack by the Israeli occupation navy which took place late Thursday evening off the southern Gaza Strip Khan Younis shores, three of them were injured.
Palestinian naval sources told PIC correspondent that an Israeli navy boat rammed the fishing boat carrying a crew of seven fishermen from behind resulting in the injury of 3 fishermen and extensive damage to the boat.
The information office of the civil defence department said in a statement that sea rescue teams managed to rescue the crew and recover the damaged boat, adding that three of the crew suffered injuries varying from broken bones to bruises.
Director of sea rescue, Captin Yahya al-Tayeh, said that the team faced difficulties towing the damaged boat to the fishermen’s wharf in Gaza City.
Tayeh added that this was not the first time fishermen were targeted by the occupation navy which is trying to tighten the noose on the Gaza Strip.

Naval Attack on Gaza Fishermen Leave Three Injured

27.05.11 - 16:50

Gaza/Bethlehem – PNN – Three Palestinian fishermen were injured, on Friday morning, when Israeli naval boats attacked fishing boats off Khan Younis city in the southern part of the Gaza Strip.
The three men were moved to Gaza City hospital for treatment; doctors said the three sustained moderate wounds. According to witnesses report, the Israeli navy boat attacked the fishermen boat and rammed it injuring the three men and though them to sea.

Gaza fishermen: Lift naval blockade too

2011-05-27T17:44:00.000-07:00

GAZA CITY (Ma’an) - Fishermen in Gaza are calling for protection after four years of siege, as Egypt said it would open the Rafah crossing on a daily basis in a bid to ease the blockade.

At a sit-in Thursday in Gaza's port, a group of fishermen rejected Israel's blockade policy, which for four years has limited their ships to the near coast at risk of being fired upon.

Mohammad Al-Hisi, one of the fishermen, told Ma'an that "the occupation's forces destroyed my small boat, which I depend on for my livelihood. And no one cares. I just want my livelihood."

The sea off Gaza has been mostly off limits since June 2006 when Israel imposed a tight blockade on the territory after militants there snatched Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, who is still being held.

The blockade was tightened a year later when the Islamist Hamas movement seized control of the territory, ousting forces loyal to the Western-backed Palestinian Authority.

Israel took steps to ease the measure last summer following a wave of international pressure after its troops staged a botched raid on an aid flotilla which was trying to break the embargo, killing nine Turkish activists.

On Thursday, fishermen appealed to the UN and human rights organizations to end the naval siege and pressure Israel to increase the area of fishing as well as "bring Israel into account for its crimes."

The fishermen say they want international protection against Israeli attacks at sea.

Mustafa Al-Jarbu, a member of fishermen committee, explained that the sit-in is in protest of the "vicious acts" carried out by the Israeli army against fishermen, which have injured hundreds and killed dozens.

Gaza fishermen ask for international protection in Gaza waters

[ 27/05/2011 - 11:17 AM ]

GAZA, (PIC)-- Hundreds of fishermen in the besieged Gaza Strip have urged the international community to provide them with international protection against the Israeli maritime blockade that denied them their main source of sustenance.
The call of the fishermen came as they held a sit-in near the fishermen wharf in Gaza city urging the international community to stop Israeli piracy and the indiscriminate shooting at them by the Israeli navy vessels.
They also urged the international community to help them expand the "permissible" area for fishing, saying the present three kilometer limit wasn’t enough to catch fish.
"Today, we remember our comrades who were killed in cold blood with Israeli bullets while searching for their families' sustenance in the sea…. today, we remember the hundreds of fishermen who were arrested by the IOF troops and lost their fishing boats… we have all the right to fishing inside our waters without limitation," said Mohammed Bakr, one of the fishermen, as he spoke before the sit-inners.

PCHR weekly report 5/5 -11/5/2011:

2011-05-12T17:14:00.000-07:00

extracts from PCHR weekly report 5/5 -11/5/2011:

IOF continued to target Palestinian fishermen in Gaza sea.
-IOF fired at Palestinian fishing boats, but no casualties were reported.

Tuesday, 10 May 2011

At approximately 07:30, IOF gunboats positioning at sea off al-Waha resort, west of Beit Lahia in the north of the Gaza Strip, intensively fired shells and bullets at Palestinian fishing boats. Palestinian fishermen fled the area in fear of being wounded or arrested. No casualties or damages to fishing boats were reported.

Wednesday, 04 May 2011

At approximately 08:30, IOF gunboats positioning at sea off al-Waha resort, wet of Beit Lahia in the north of the Gaza Strip, intensively fired shells and bullets at Palestinian fishing boats. Palestinian fishermen fled the area in fear of being wounded or arrested. No casualties or damages to fishing boats were reported.

Israeli Gunboats Fire on Palestinian Fishing Boats in North Gaza District

2011-05-11T07:42:00.000-07:00

11-5-2011

Al Mezan

At approximately 8:30am on Wednesday 11 May 2011, Israeli naval vessels patrolling the Gaza sea opened fire on Palestinian fishing boats off the coast of As-Sudaniya area west of Jabalia town in North Gaza district. The firing scared the fishermen on the boats and they sailed to land immediately. No casualties or injuries were reported.

PCHR weekly report 21/4 -27/4/2011: attack off al Waha resort

2011-04-28T15:59:00.000-07:00

extracts from PCHR weekly report 21/4 -27/4/2011:

IOF continued to target Palestinian workers, farmers and fishermen in border areas in the Gaza Strip
-IOF fired at Palestinian fishermen at sea and no casualties were reported.

Saturday, 23 April 2011

At approximately 03:00, IOF gunboats positioned off al-Waha resort in the west of Beit Lahia town in the northern Gaza Strip, fired shells and opened intensive fire at Palestinian fishing boats. They also fired flash bombs. Palestinian fishermen escaped as a result in fear of being wounded or arrested. No casualties or damages to property were reported.

PCHR weekly report 14/4 - 20/4/2011: attack off al Waha resort

2011-04-21T15:47:00.000-07:00

extracts from PCHR weekly report 14/4 - 20/4/2011:

IOF continued to target Palestinian workers, farmers and fishermen in border areas in the Gaza Strip - IOF opened fire at Palestinian farmers and fishermen in the northern Gaza Strip, but no casualties were reported.

Saturday, 16 April 2011

At approximately 20:00, IOF gunboats positioned off al-Waha resort in the west of Beit Lahia, northern the Gaza Strip, fired shells and opened intensive fire at Palestinian fishing boats. They also fired flash bombs. Palestinian fishermen escaped as a result in fear of being wounded or arrested. No casualties or damages in Palestinian fishing boats were reported.

European activists launch boat to monitor Israeli violations in Gaza waters

2011-04-21T11:31:00.001-07:00

[ 21/04/2011 - 07:52 AM ]

GAZA, (PIC)-- European activists from Civil Peace Service Gaza (CPSGAZA) launched Wednesday a boat named Oliva designed to monitor Israeli human rights violations on Palestinian waters off the Gaza Strip.

The move also comes to commemorate the life of slain Italian peace activist Vittorio Arrigoni, one of the dozens of parties that supported the boat.

The mission was launched after Israel reduced the fishing space in the sea from twenty nautical miles, as agreed upon in the Oslo Accords, to just three. Gaza fishermen have therefore become threatened by frequent Israeli fire and boat confiscation. Many of them have been arrested and suffered poverty because of the reduction of fishing space.

The launch of the monitoring boat was announced at the opening of the sixth Bil'in conference in Ramallah by its organizers during a video conference.

It includes activists from Spain, the US, Italy, and Belgium as well as Gaza fisherman. Their mission is to document human rights violations by gathering information and taking video footage to be handed over to the media.

Arrigoni, who was recently slain by a deviant religious group in the Gaza Strip, was one of the parties that supported the project. He also helped choose the name Oliva, expressing his desire not to name it after one of the Gaza martyrs. The name is Italian for ”olive”.

According to statistics from the Red Cross, 90 per cent of Gaza's 4,000 fishermen are poor with an average monthly income of $100-190 or live below the poverty line, earning less than $100 a month. The average was at 50 per cent in 2008 but rose dramatically in the last three years.

Activists restart work after Gaza murder

2011-04-21T11:29:00.000-07:00

Maan

GAZA CITY (AFP) -- Members of the pro-Palestinian International Solidarity Movement resumed their activities in Gaza on Wednesday, days after the murder of an activist from the group.

Five members of the organisation gathered at a dock in Gaza City to restart work monitoring Israeli treatment of Palestinian fishermen seeking to ply their trade on a small strip of ocean off the coast of Gaza.

Such monitoring was done frequently by Vittorio Arrigoni, an Italian member of ISM who was found hanged last Friday, hours after his kidnap by a radical Islamist Salafist group.

The activists, from Belgium, Italy and the United States, were joined by around 200 Palestinians for the ceremony, and observed a minute of silence in Arrigoni's memory.

Flowers were also sprinkled over five boats preparing to take part in the monitoring activity, as people waved the Palestinian flag.

Inge Neefs, a member of ISM, said the activity had been Arrigoni's favorite way to demonstrate solidarity with the Palestinians.

"The idea is to have a human rights monitoring boat out in Palestinian water to document potential human rights violations at sea," she told AFP.

In the West Bank, meanwhile, caretaker prime minister Salam Fayyad mourned Arrigoni's death at a conference honoring non-violent protest against Israel's separation barrier in the village of Bilin.

"Killing Arrigoni was a hurtful blow to us and all international volunteers, but this huge participation today assures us that the International Solidarity Movement is still strong," he said.

"Despite what happened, international solidarity with us continues," he added, noting the presence of dozens of foreign representatives at the conference.

Arrigoni, 36, was a long-time member of the International Solidarity Movement and had been living and working in the Gaza Strip for much of the past three years.

A previously unknown radical group claimed responsibility for his kidnapping in a video that was posted online and showed Arrigoni, his face bruised and bloodied and his hands bound behind his back.

The group demanded the release of Salafist prisoners, including a senior Salafi leader, and threatened to kill Arrigoni within 30 hours if their demands were not met.

Hamas security forces found his body shortly afterwards, ahead of the stated deadline, in an abandoned house in northern Gaza.

Security forces in Gaza have so far arrested three suspects in the case. Another two were killed during a Tuesday raid in central Gaza.

Launch of international boat to monitor human rights in Palestinian waters

2011-04-17T17:36:00.000-07:00

17 April 2010 | Civil Peace Service Gaza

Civil Peace Service Gaza

On Wednesday April 20th, the “Oliva”, a human rights monitoring boat with an international crew, will launch from the port of Gaza City. The crew of the Civil Peace Service, which currently consists of citizens from Spain, the United States, Italy and Belgium, will accompany Gazan fishermen within Palestinian waters. Violations of international law will be monitored and documented. Data and video materials will be collected and disseminated.
Vittorio Arrigoni, the murdered human rights activist, was involved in setting up this project and therefore a commemoration will be held at the end of the press conference. As Vik was involved in choosing the name of the boat and expressed his desire for it not to be named after an individual, the boat will be going by the name Oliva, which he supported, but the mission will carry on in his spirit.
The launch of Oliva, an 8-meter long white motor boat, will inaugurate the Civil Peace Services mission in Palestinian waters. Since Operation Cast Lead, access to fishing grounds has been unilaterally restricted by Israel to 3 nautical miles. This dramatic reduction of the 20-mile limit which was agreed upon in the Oslo Accords has resulted in the over-exploitation of fishing grounds in which stocks are close to exhaustion. Fishermen are threatened by gunfire, confiscation of their boats and fishing tools and arrest by the Israeli Navy which regularly launches attacks and incursions in Palestinian waters.
According to the International Committee of the Red Cross, nearly 90% of Gaza’s 4000 fishermen are now considered either poor (with a monthly income of between 100 and 190 US dollars) or very poor (earning less than 100 dollars a month), up from 50% in 2008.
The launching of the Oliva is a response to this situation of extreme vulnerability. A wide range of international organizations are supporting this initiative which comes in cooperation with local organizations, such as the Palestinian Center for Human Rights, the Popular Struggle Coordination Committees, the Union of Agriculture Committees and Fishing and Marine Sports Association.
Media information:

Audio-visual and graphics materials are available.
Interested media can board the Oliva.

A Civil Peace Service for Palestinian waters: Press File

The Gaza Strip: General Overview
Steadily deteriorating since the beginning of the Israeli occupation in 1967, the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip has worsened dramatically in the last decade. From the launch of the Second Intifada in 2000 to the current escalation of violence, Israeli policies have done nothing but keep 1.6 million people-over half of them children-condemned to a situation of extreme vulnerability.
The deceptive disengagement plan-unilaterally approved by Israel and enacted in 2005-did not result in an effective easing of Israel’s control over fundamental aspects of the lives of Palestinian in Gaza such as their access to farming land and fishing stocks and their right to move freely within and out of the Strip’s territory. In 2007, following Hamas’ victory in the 2006 legislative elections, Israel imposed an unprecedented land, air and sea blockade, which turned the area into an open air prison.
On 27 December 2008, without warning, Israeli forces began a devastating bombing campaign on the Gaza Strip codenamed Operation Cast Lead. According to figures cited by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), 1,440 Palestinians were killed over a three week period, including 431 children and 114 women. A further 5,380 Palestinians were injured[1]. For almost a month, the population of Gaza was subjected to incessant bombing raids by the Israeli forces. These attacks targeted not only military assets but also civilian infrastructures and densely populated areas in a clear case of collective punishment in flagrant violation of the Geneva Conventions. The war further compromised the already precarious situation of Gaza residents. The destruction of livelihoods, key medical and educational facilitates, and private property left the Gaza Strip in an utterly desperate situation which, due to the extreme restrictions still imposed by Israel, has not been overcome.
After the deadly and illegal attack on the Freedom Flotilla, Israel announced in June 2010 a package of measures aimed at “easeing” access restrictions. However, as stated in OCHA’s latest Special Focus report, these measures have not resulted in significant improvements in people’s livelihoods due to the pivotal remaining restrictions[2]. Six months after the measures were announced, inflow of building materials was at only 11% of pre-blockade. The minimal increase in food imports has been further compromised by the global rise in food prices. As of February 2011, according to OCHA’s projections in its February Humanitarian Monitor, close to 54% of Gaza’s households are food insecure and, according to UNRWA, unemployment rate has reached a staggering 45.5%[3].
The Sea of Gaza: fishermen’s endangered livelihood
Israeli control over Gaza’s crucial resources has also been imposed on the sea. Palestinian territorial waters have been progressively reduced from the 20 nm offshore established in the Oslo Accords to the current 3 nm limit, imposed by gunfire from the Israeli Navy. This limit has further exacerbated the hardships imposed upon Gaza’s fishing industry, which sustained 4000 families at the end of 2010[4].
In Gaza, the majority of profits from fishing have traditionally come from sardines. However, as schools of sardine pass beyond the 3 nm mark, catches are down by 72%[5]. Considering that adult fish are mostly found beyond the 3 nm limit, fishing within the current zone is less profitable and, most importantly, depletes new generations of fish, thus threatening the future sustainability of the already overexploited stocks. Further endangering the marine environment and the fishermen’s livelihoods, the power supply interruptions, the acute shortage of fuel and the lack of spare parts caused by the Israeli siege have impeded the proper operation of Gaza’s sewage treatment plants, which daily pump large quantities of raw sewage water off the Gaza shore.
According to Gaza-based Al Mezan Center for Human Rights, due to this deterioration, poverty among fishermen was the highest of all population groups in Gaza at the end of 2010, when it was estimated at 90%; up from 50% in 2008[6].
Israeli attacks on Palestinian Waters
Besides having to rely on increasingly decimated captures, fishermen are constantly threatened by Israeli military forces deployed in Palestinian territorial waters. According to Al Mezan’s report on the subject, between May 2009 and November 2010,the IOF carried out 53 attacks against fishermen. As a result, two fishermen were killed and up to seven were injured; 42 fishermen, including two children, were arrested and 17 fishing boats, together with fishing equipment and nets were confiscated and destroyed.
These Israeli attacks aim at restricting the access of Palestinian fishermen to their areas of work. According to Oxfam, in practice, access is sometimes restricted by Israeli military forces to as little as one nautical mile, banning access to around 85% of Gaza’s fishing water[7]. Attacks on fishermen are yet another example of the widespread violations of international law perpetrated by Israel in the Gaza Strip. Israeli attacks violate Palestinian fishermen’s right to life, security, and personal safety. The targeting of fishermen, and their property, including seaports, boats, and fishing equipment, constitutes serious violations of international human rights and humanitarian law. Israeli forces periodically escalate their attacks: as stated by OCHA in a recent weekly report, Israeli naval forces opened fire at Palestinian fishing boats in six separate occasions between March 16 and 29 alone.[8]

UN OCHA, Field Update on Gaza from the Humanitarian Coordinator: 3-5 February 2009 (pdf)
UN OCHA, “Special Focus: Easing the Blockade, Assessing the Humanitarian Impact on the population of the Gaza Strip”, March 2011 (pdf)
UN OCHA, Monthly Humanitarian Monitor, February 2011 (pdf); UNWRA’s representative statement, February 2011 (link)
Al Mezan Center for Human Rights, “Fact Sheet:Gaza Fishermen: Life with Poverty, Harassment and Suffering”, November 2010 (pdf)
UN OCHA, “Fact sheet:Farming without Land, Fishing without Water: Gaza Agriculture Sector Struggles to Survive”, May 2010 (pdf)
Al Mezan Center for Human Rights, “Fact Sheet:Gaza Fishermen: Life with Poverty, Harassment and Suffering”, November 2010 (pdf)
Oxfam, weekly update, 30 January- 5 February 2011 (pdf)
UN OCHA, “Protection of civilians weekly report 16-29 March 2011″ (pdf)

Updated on April 17, 2011

Gaza activists announce rights monitoring boat

2011-04-17T17:14:00.000-07:00

GAZA CITY (Ma'an) -- Activists in Gaza announced Sunday the upcoming launch of a rights monitoring boat for the Gaza shore, to be christened "Oliva," following the wish of slain Italian activist Vittorio Arrigoni, a statement said.

With the maiden voyage of the 8-meter skiff set for Wednesday, the group of activists said nationals from Spain, the United States, Italy and Belgium, will soon accompany Gazan fishermen within Palestinian waters, documenting violations of international law.

"The mission will carry on in his spirit," the group said of the project, in reference to Arrigoni, an Italian activist who was abducted and found hanged on Friday, apparently by a splinter group of Salafists in the Gaza Strip.

Activists will document instances of fire from Israeli warships paroling Gaza's Mediterranean shore, and enforcing a 3-mile fishing limit. Fishermen have in the past been injured by the fire, had boats confiscated and faced periods of detention for allegedly deviating from the unilaterally-imposed limit.

Organizers said there was tremendous local support for the initiative, including from the Palestinian Center for Human Rights, the Popular Struggle Coordination Committees, the Union of Agriculture Committees and Fishing and Marine Sports Association.

Israeli navy gunboats fire at Palestinian fishing boats

2011-04-16T23:34:00.001-07:00

[ 16/04/2011 - 04:45 PM ]

GAZA, (PIC)-- Israeli navy gunboats opened heavy machinegun fire at Palestinian fishing boats off the coast of Gaza city on Saturday evening, local sources reported.
They said that no casualties were suffered as a result of the shooting, which is repeated practiced by those gunboats.
Israeli warplanes blasted two targets for the Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, in Gaza city at dawn Saturday for the first time since an undeclared, reciprocal calm was reached between Israeli army and Palestinian resistance in Gaza almost a week ago.