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.
Gaza – Ma'an – Tensions between Hamas and Egypt resurfaced on Wednesday following the death of a Palestinian fisherman off the coast of Rafah.
The Gaza government said an Egyptian vessel was responsible for Muhammad Ibrahim Al-Bardawil's death
Hamas leader Salah Al-Bardawil said shortly after the incident that "Egyptian boat 94 killed the fisherman, deliberately running him over."
The official said the deceased's son, who was injured in the incident, reported that his father's body was left in the water and not retrieved until he returned to the area. The son further alleges that when he returned to the waters, he was taken by Egyptian soldiers and beaten.
Egypt's Foreign Ministry released a statement saying Egypt allows small boats to fish in Egyptian waters, denying that the fisherman's death was deliberate.
Egyptian security sources told Ma'an that an Egyptian maritime patrol identified a Palestinian fishing boat entering Egyptian waters without turning on its lights. Unable to see the small boat, the patrol crashed into it, the sources said.
A second Palestinian fishing boat was allowed to enter Egyptian waters to retrieve the boat and return it to Palestinian land, the sources added.
Al-Bardawil further said the incident was a "distortion of Egypt's image and requires condemnation from the Egyptians."
Meanwhile, the de facto Interior Ministry said it held Egypt responsible for the fisherman's death and the injury of four others, calling on Egypt's government to investigate.
Al-Bardawil was pronounced dead on arrival at the Abu Yousif An-Najjar Hospital, said Gaza medical official Adham Abu Suleimeh.
In February, Egyptian authorities denied arresting four Gaza fishermen off the southern coast of Rafah.
"Egyptian coast guards deal with Palestinian in a humane way; if they cross into Egyptian territorial water, they are turned away without arrest because of the inhumane circumstances Palestinian fishermen are living under," a senior Egyptian security source told Ma'an at the time.
These testimonies were given to ISM Gaza Strip volunteers on April 9th 2009
Izhaq Mohammed Zayed, 46
On Monday 6th April 2009, Izhaq Zayed was with his son, Rassim, in a hassaka (small fishing boat) off the coast of Beit Lahia, northern Gaza. Izhaq was feeling unwell and asked Rassim to take him back to shore to go to hospital. Around the same time, an Israeli naval zodiac approached them and a soldier shot in the air. Rassim told the Israelis that his father was ill and needed to go to hospital, but they refused to let them go. An officer ordered a soldier to shoot at the boat and the soldier fired about 20 shots in close range. Rassim told them,
"If something happens to my father you are responsible. Either let me take him to the hospital or you take him."
The Israelis ordered them to go west, further out to sea. When they arrived at a yellow boundary marker, they were ordered to tie their hassaka to it. Then they noticed another three hassakas that had also been forced to come to the yellow buoy. The Israelis in the zodiac began to interrogate the fishermen about their names and communicate by radio to the Israeli gunboat that was nearby. They ordered the fishermen to stand up and take their clothes off. Izhaq was lying on the hassaka, still sick. He refused to stand, saying that he couldn't. The Israelis threatened to shoot him. They asked him to take off his jacket and again he refused saying that he was feeling cold. Again they threatened to shoot at him. Then they asked all the fishermen (apart from two minors) to jump in the water and swim to the larger naval vessel. The two boys stayed in the hassaka. Then they threw Izhaq a tire and he grabbed it and they pulled him. However he fell in the water. The soldiers grabbed him violently (he showed his bruises)
On arrival at Ashdod he was taken to see a doctor who asked what was wrong with him. He said that he had a headache and his stomach was aching. The doctor asked whether he had drunk any sea water. Izhaq said he hadn't. The doctor challenged him, saying that a soldier reported that he had been drinking seawater. Izhaq explained that he had been vomiting and had just washed his mouth out with seawater. The doctor checked his heart and back and gave him a pill (he doesn't know what it was). He had to sign a paper to acknowledge that he had been attended by a doctor. Then they took him away, searched him, gave him clothes and began to interrogate him.
The interrogators accused him that he had been found in a 'restricted' zone and that the soldiers who arrested him had claimed he was in Dugeet (northern part of Gaza close to the Green Line). He told them this wasn't true and that they should bring the soldier who said that because he was lying. Izhaq said that he had been taken from Al Waha (which is in the 'permitted' area). The interrogators asked how he could prove this. He explained that he has a room in Al Waha which he goes back and forth from.
Then the interrogators asked about his family's financial situation:
-What do your daughters' husbands do for a living?
-They are all fishermen.
-How much do you make from fishing?
-20 NIS per day.
-Did you work in Israel.
-Yes.
-How much money you were earning?
-250 NIS per day.
-What can you do with 20 NIS?
-Nothing.
-Wasn't working in Israel better?
-Now the crossing is closed.
-Work with us and we will pay you.
-No.
-Why not?
-Because I don't want to.
-Do the Palestinian police come to the beach?
-No.
-When you lose your nets do you go to the Palestinian navy station?
-No.
-Why?
-Because you bombed their offices.
-Where do you go to?
-To Al Mina (the port of GazaCity).
-Do you go to *** **** from the syndicate?
-Yes. What about my hassaka?
-It will stay here.
-I have nets that cost $1,000. Tomorrow the weather will be windy and I will lose them.
-How old is your son, Rassim?
-22.
-Is he engaged?
-Yes.
-Do you want him to get married?
-Yes, but I can't afford his wedding.
-Help us and we will enable you to get him married quickly.
-What does that mean?
-We will call you on your mobile…
-Why?
-To tell you when we are going to give you your hassaka.
-Do I know you to talk to you on the phone?
-You talk to your boss in Israel. He still phone you sometimes. I want also to be your friend.
-No
-Why?
-Because you abducted me and you prevent me from providing food for my family. You took me when I was only 100 meters from the shore. You took my hassaka and my nets and some of the nets are still at sea.
Then they brought about 50 copies of a sketch that was supposed to show the 'permitted' and 'restricted' areas (see photo). The sketch is hand made and has no dimensions. The Israeli navy no longer recognizes the Oslo Agreement which allows Palestinian fishermen to fish as far out as 20 nautical miles from the Gazan coast, yet at the same time demands the fishermen to respect 'area K' which is in Palestinian territorial waters, adjacent to Israeli waters but according to Oslo is a non-fishing area. Also, the sketch doesn't show any dimensions to indicate how far from the coast the Palestinian fishermen are 'allowed' to fish. The Israelis asked the abducted fishermen to distribute these papers amongst their colleagues.
They also brought a map showing Gaza and asked Izhaq to point out his house. He told the interrogators he didn't know where it was on the map. He was asked where his house is in relation to Al Iman Mosque and he told them it's to the east of the mosque. Then they asked him who his neighbors are and when he told them they showed him his house on the map. After the interrogation he was again handcuffed and blindfolded. At 9.30pm the fishermen were shackled together.
At 10.00pm they were put on a bus to be taken to the Erez crossing. Later, after their blindfolds were removed at the crossing, they saw they were being guarded by seven soldiers. At Erez, the border soldiers asked the naval soldiers why these people had been arrested. They were told that the Palestinian fishermen were fishing in a restricted area. Izhaq told the officer that this was a lie and that they had been fishing in a permitted area.
The Israelis released them and warned them that they had five minutes to reach the Palestinian side of the crossing. The fishermen asked the Israelis to give them some money to take a taxi home because they were barefoot. The Israelis refused and told them that if they don't go straight ahead to the other side of the crossing they would shoot them.
Ahmed Assad Hamad Sultan, 15
Ahmed was fishing with his brother Abed, 21, about 100-150 meters from the shore. The Israeli zodiac approached and ordered them to go west but they refused. The fishermen told them that it was the last time to fish there. The Israelis in the zodiac forced them by shooting to go west to the mark.
There they were ordered to take their clothes off. All the fishermen swam to the larger gunboat but two youths remained in two different hassakas. The Israelis in the zodiac told them to jump in the water. The boys pleaded, explaining that they couldn't swim. Then they threw them a tire and pulled them to the zodiac, where they were handcuffed very tightly and blindfolded. Although they were naked and cold, they were covered with a wet blanket which was very heavy and tight on their chests, causing them difficulty to breathe. They took the two boys to Ashdod in the zodiac.
Ahmed was hit in the back when he asked for food. None of the fishermen were given anything to eat during their detention, only water.
Riffat Zayed Zayed, 20
Riffat was out in a hassaka, assisted by his brother Neshat, 12, who suffers from a chronic disease. While they were collecting their nets, an Israeli naval zodiac appeared and soldiers ordered them head west. At first they ignored this demand. The Israelis began to shoot but they ignored them again. The Israelis threatened to shoot them. Riffat was forced to cut their nets in order to leave the area.
When they arrived at the mark, they tied the hassakas. They took their clothes off and stayed in the cold for 20 minutes. Then they were ordered to jump in the cold water and swim to the larger gunboat. When they arrived, the soldiers seized them then blindfolded and handcuffed them. They pushed Riffat's head down and covered him with a blanket.
Only when they arrived in Ashdod were they given trousers. There he asked to use a toilet but was made to wait for 20 minutes. When he asked for food he was tied to a chair. Then he was taken to a doctor who declared he was fit. Only then he was given a shirt. He was taken for interrogation where they untied his hands and uncovered his eyes.
He was asked how much he earns from the sea, to which he replied 15-20 NIS per day maximum. The interrogators said they would pay him 200-250 NIS if he let them know how much the other fishermen are earning. He told them he didn't want to. They said that if he collaborated with them, they would return his hassaka and nets. He replied that if he had to collaborate, then he didn't want his property back. So they told him he wouldn't get them back.
They blindfolded and handcuffed him again. When he said that he wanted to go home, the soldiers kicked the chair he was in which threw him about two meters across the room. The fishermen could smell the soldiers preparing coffee in front of them but they weren't given any, only water. At 5.30 Riffat tried to uncover his eyes to see the time so a soldier hit him. He was forced onto the ground and kept there. On the bus to Erez a similar incident occurred.
Alaa Mohammed Joma Sultan, 15
Alaa also said that the soldiers hit him in the back. Alaa has been injured in the past when he fell whilst trying to escape from Israeli gunfire on the shore.
Some of the fishermen have been abducted in the past. However they say that it was the first time that the Israelis also took children.
The Israelis didn't say if and when they will return the four hassakas. As for the six hassakas stolen in March, three of the fishermen have been phoned in connection with their possible return.
Gaza / PNN (thank you to ISM-GAZA) - Yesterday dozens of fishermen from Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip held a nonviolent march towards the coast of the Mediterranean to protest recent Israeli naval attacks.
The Palestinians were joined by the Director of the General Syndicate of Marine Fishers, Nizar Ayash, as well as local activists from the Beit Hanoun Local Initiative.
The demonstration was supported by foreign supporters from the International Solidarity Movement; among them were two who had been abducted by the Israeli naval forces last November.
The Israeli navy has intensely escalated its attacks against Gazan fishermen since the recent onslaught on the Gaza Strip that intensified for 23 days beginning at the end of December.
In just the past three weeks at least two Palestinian fishermen have been injured by Israeli gunfire, while a whopping16 have been abducted: some of them tortured and later released as reported by the victims and human rights organizations.
Israeli forces also stole seven fishing boats without return. Several other boats have also reportedly been damaged by Israeli gunfire. Most of the assaulted fishermen are from the Beit Lahia in the northern Strip, some of whom now face even more bleak situations.
They already lost their homes during the recent major Israeli bombings and have now lost their sole means of income in a Gaza already greatly impoverished by the nearly three year long siege on the Strip.
Today, dozens of fishermen from the Salateen area in Beit Lahiya in the far north of Gaza, staged a march towards the coast to protest against recent Israeli naval attacks. They were joined by the Director of the General Syndicate of Marine Fishers, Nizar Ayash, as well as Palestinian activists from the Beit Hanoun Local Initiative. The demonstration was supported by volunteers from the International Solidarity Movement (ISM), among them two that were abducted by the Israeli naval forces last November. The Israeli navy has intensely escalated its attacks against Gazan fishermen since the recent onslaught on the Gaza strip. In just the past three weeks at least two fishermen have been injured by gunfire, 16 have been abducted (some of them tortured and later released) and seven fishing boats have been stolen without return. Several other boats have also reportedly been damaged by Israeli gunfire. Most of the assaulted fishermen are from the Salateen area, some of whom now face bleak situations – in the wake of losing their homes during Israeli bombing raids they have now lost their sole means of income in a Gaza already greatly impoverished by the siege.
On Wednesday 25 March 2009 at 8 a.m., about 2 km from Egypt and 1,5 km from the Rafah shore, a Palestinian "shanshula" fishing boat, No 67, was intercepted by an Israeli gunboat that opened fire. The Israeli Navy forced 3 of the Palestinian fishermen to take off their clothes, jump in the sea and swim to the Israeli gunboat, where they were handcuffed, blindfolded and beaten. The fourth fisherman was forced to take the fishing boat to Ashdod port. The 4 Palestinian fishermen from Rafah are the brothers:
-Mohammed Abdullah Halil Al Najar
-Youssef Abdullah Halil Al Najar
-Halil Abdullah Halil Al Najar
And their cousin Ali Hassan Halil Al Najar. The fishermen were held for 12 hours. They were given only trousers, and they remained without other clothes till their return to the Gaza Strip. Before entering, the soldiers destroyed the trousers of one of the fishermen. One of the brothers, Youssef, was also beaten during the interrogation. The Israelis didn't give any explanation for the abduction. At the question "Why you took us?" they replied "We arrest whoever we want, we injure whoever we want, we kill whoever we want." They also said that "this fishing boat will not be returned". Their 7,5 m long "shanshula" fishing boat is worth 5,000$ (US dollars) and is equipped with the following:
-fish finder 1,600 $
-40 HP motor 4,500 $
-Nets 3,500 $
-Batteries 200 $
-Motor for the nets 1,800 $
That means a total of 16,600 $ is being stolen by the Israeli Navy.
About 6 or 7 years ago the same boat, along with a smaller one, had suffered a similar act of piracy by the Israeli Navy. The boats were returned but not the equipment - among other things the motors (25 and 15 thousands shekels each), and the nets of both boats (a total of 15 thousands shekels). On that occasion there were 5 fishermen abducted and among them was Mohammed. One of the abducted fishermen was Mohamed's uncle Hassan Halil Abdullah Al Najar (44). He was released a week later, but then arrested again on March 19th 2007. He has been sentenced to 8 years and he is imprisoned in Nafha prison. He was never allowed to receive visits from his relatives, as have been all the prisoners from Gaza Strip, for the past 2 years.
Another 2 members of the same family are prisoners. Mohammed's brother Said Abdullah Halil Al Najar (33) was arrested on November 30th 2005. He has been sentenced to 13 years and he is imprisoned in Ramon. Initially he was allowed to be visited by his mother and wife, but he too has been deprived of this right for 2 years now. During the recent abduction, his brothers were told by the Israelis in a sarcastic tone: "Your brother is our guest".
The cousin of the brothers, Ahmed Abdel Hadi Hamad Algoun has been sentenced to 11 years and he is in Nafha prison.
Their relatives say that all of them have been tortured while in custody.
The Palestinians were joined by the Director of the General Syndicate of Marine Fishers, Nizar Ayash, as well as local activists from the Beit Hanoun Local Initiative.
