Israeli forces open fire at Gaza fishermen, injure 3

Published yesterday (updated) 10/11/2014 17:45

(MaanImages/File)

GAZA CITY (Ma'an) -- Israeli gunboats shot and injured three Palestinian fishermen off the coast of the southern Gaza Strip late Sunday, witnesses told Ma'an.

The witnesses said Israeli forces shot at the boat until it took fire, and that fishermen in a nearby boat managed to pull the injured aboard and escape under heavy fire.

The injured fishermen were taken to Abu Yusuf al-Najjar hospital in Rafah.

An Israeli army spokeswoman told Ma'an that navy forces identified a Palestinian boat entering Egyptian territorial waters around 10 p.m. Sunday, and that upon its return to Palestinian waters the forces called on the boat to stop.

When the boat did not stop, the naval forces opened fire at the boat, "identifying a hit."

She confirmed that the boat caught fire and said that Palestinians "were seen jumping into the water."

Israeli forces believe the incident is "probably a potential smuggling," the spokeswoman said.

She added that a similar incident occurred at 1 a.m. Monday morning.

The Aug. 26 ceasefire agreement between Israel and Palestinian militant groups stipulated that Israel would immediately expand the fishing zone off Gaza's coast, allowing fishermen to sail as far as six nautical miles from shore, and would continue to expand the area gradually.

Since then, there have been widespread reports that Israeli forces have at times opened fire at fishermen within those new limits, and the zone has not been expanded.

Prior to the recent agreement, Israeli forces maintained a limit of three nautical miles on all Gaza fishermen, opening fire at fishermen who strayed further, despite earlier agreements which had settled on a 20-mile limit.

The restrictions have crippled Gaza's fishing industry and impoverished local fishermen.

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Israeli Gunboats Attack and Burn Two Fishing Boats

 Al Mezan

At approximately 9:30 pm on Sunday, 9 November 2014, Israeli gunboats opened fire and launched shells targeting a fishing boat that was sailing about 200 meters away in the sea near the nautical borders with Egypt.
As a result, the boat was totally burned and two fishermen were sustained shrapnel wounds in their limbs.
They were referred to Abu Youssif An-Najjar hospital in Rafah.
Medical sources described their injuries as moderate, and they refused to disclose their identity in the hospital.
At approximately 11:40 pm on the same day, Israeli gunboats opened fire and launched shells at a fishing boat that was sailing about 800 meters away in the sea off the fishermen port in Rafah, in the south-west of Gaza Strip.
The boat was burned, and no injuries or causalities were reported.

[Boat burnt because of Israeli Navy attack]

extract from PCHR weekly report 23 - 29/10/2014

 Thursday, 23 October 2014

At approximately 23:00, Israeli gunboats opened fire and fired shells at a fishing boat sailing 1 nautical mile off the fishing harbor in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip.  As a result, the boat which belongs to the Baker family in Gaza was burnt, but no injuries were reported.  

Israeli forces open fire at Gaza fishermen, detain 5

 

 

 

 

GAZA CITY (Ma'an) -- Israeli forces detained five Gaza fishermen off the coast of Gaza City early Wednesday, an employee of a human rights group told Ma'an.

The employee, speaking on the condition of anonymity, told Ma'an that Israeli naval forces opened fire "heavily" on a group of Palestinian fishermen.

Israeli forces "forced a boat of five fisherman from the Bakr family to stop, detained them, and dragged the boat to an unknown location."

No injuries were reported.

An Israeli army spokeswoman said that there were two "Palestinian vessels" carrying seven people near the northern Gaza Strip that "deviated from the designated fishing zone."

Israeli forces called on them to stop and fired warning shots into the air, and when the boats did not stop, in the "vicinity of the vessels."

The forces then took the Palestinians in for questioning, the spokeswoman said.

She said the Palestinians were 3,600 yards (1.8 nautical miles) from the fishing zone.

The Aug. 26 ceasefire agreement reached with Palestinian militant groups stipulated that Israel would immediately expand the fishing zone off Gaza's coast, allowing fishermen to sail as far as six nautical miles from shore, and would continue to expand the area gradually.

Since then, there have been widespread reports that Israeli forces have at times opened fire at fishermen within those new limits.

Prior to the recent agreement, Israeli forces maintained a limit of three nautical miles on all Gaza fishermen, opening fire at fishermen who strayed further, despite earlier agreements which had settled on a 20-mile limit.

The restrictions crippled Gaza's fishing industry and impoverished local fishermen.

Israeli navy opens fire, sinks Palestinian fishing boat off Gaza coast

GAZA CITY (Ma'an) -- Israeli naval forces on Thursday evening opened fire at a Palestinian fishing boat off the coast of the Gaza Strip.

Head of the fishermen's union in Gaza Nizar Ayyash told Ma'an that Israeli boats opened fire at boats belonging to local fisherman off the coast of Deir al-Balah.

A boat belonging to Jamal Abu Watfa was sunk in the attack.

Ayyash said the fisherman lost consciousness after the incident, but was reportedly saved from the water.

He added that the financial losses to the fisherman could reach more than JOD 100,000 ($140,000).

Since the signing of a ceasefire agreement that ended 50 days of fighting between Israeli forces and Palestinian militants in Gaza on Aug. 26, the Israeli navy has fired at Gaza fishermen in multiple instances under the pretext that they had surpassed fishing zone limits.

The Aug. 26 agreement stipulated that Israel would immediately expand the fishing zone off Gaza's coast, allowing fishermen to sail as far as six nautical miles from shore, and would continue to expand the area gradually.

The fisherman who have been shot at, and even at times detained by Israeli forces, have insisted that they were well within the six-mile limit.

Prior to the recent agreement, Israeli forces maintained a limit of three nautical miles on all Gaza fishermen, opening fire at fishermen who strayed further, despite earlier agreements which had settled on a 20-mile limit.

There are 4,000 fishermen in Gaza. According to a 2011 report by the International Committee of the Red Cross, 90 percent are poor, an increase of 40 percent from 2008 and a direct result of Israeli limits on the fishing industry.

The Israeli blockade in place since 2006 has severely limited the imports and exports of the Gaza Strip -- include materials necessary for building fishing boats -- and has led to frequent humanitarian crises and hardship for Gazans.

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 Al Mezan

Israeli Gunboats Open Fire at a Fishing Boat; Five Fishermen were Injured

At approximately 3:30 pm on Thursday 16 October 2014, Israeli gunboats opened fire at a fishing boat in which five fishermen were on board. The boat was in the sea, about five nautical miles away from the coast of Deir Al Balah city in the Middle of Gaza Strip. According to Al Mezan’s field investigations, Israeli gunboats attacked the boat and opened fire heavily toward it. As a result, fishermen drove the boat away to the east, but the two Israeli gunboats followed it for one and a half nautical mile under heavy fire. The boat was hit by some bullets and it drowned and five fishermen were injured due to falling some equipment on them: Mohammed Jamal Abu Watfa, 24, Ameer Saleem Abu As-Sadeq, 26, Raed Saed Al Habeel, 43, Sa’di Mohammed Al Adgham, 40, Ismail Ameen Abu As-Sadeq, 41, all of whom residents of As-Shate’ refugee camp west of Gaza. The boat is still sinking in the sea until publishing this piece of news on Sunday 19 October 2014, and the marine police is trying to get it out.

Israeli forces shoot, injure Gaza fisherman

Published today (updated) 18/09/2014 11:25

(MaanImages/file)

 

GAZA CITY (Ma'an) -- Israeli naval forces opened fire off the coast of northern Gaza late Wednesday, injuring a Palestinian fisherman on a beach, locals said.

Yousef Zayif, 70, was hit by live fire while waiting for his sons on the shore near al-Sudaniya.

Medics said he was moderately wounded.

An Israeli army spokeswoman said she was looking into the incident.

On Sunday, an Israeli warship opened fire at Palestinian fishermen off the coast of Gaza City's al-Shati refugee camp, the speaker of the Union of Gaza Fishermen said.

Nizar Ayyash told Ma'an that Israeli gunboats "have been firing at fishermen every day since the ceasefire agreement was signed."

He also said that Israeli naval forces have detained six Palestinian fishermen since the ceasefire agreement in late August.

The Israeli blockade in place since 2006 has severely limited the imports and exports of the Gaza Strip and has led to frequent humanitarian crises and hardship for Gazans.

 

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Elderly Palestinian fisherman wounded in Israeli navy shooting

[ 18/09/2014 - 08:46 AM ]

GAZA, (PIC)-- A 70-year-old Palestinian fisherman was injured by Israeli navy fire while waiting for the return of his sons from sea on the shores of Sudaniya in northern Gaza Strip on Wednesday night. Local sources said that Yousef Zayed, 70, suffered bullet injuries, which were described as “moderate” by medical staff. The incident is the latest in the series of Israeli violations of the ceasefire agreement signed on August 26 with Egyptian mediation.

 

Israeli forces detain 4 Gaza fishermen

Palestinian fishermen work on Jan. 24, 2009 near the border with
Egypt (AFP/File, Said Khatib)

 

GAZA CITY (Ma'an) -- Israeli naval forces early Tuesday detained four Palestinian fishermen off the coast of the northern Gaza Strip, a Ma'an reporter said.

Israeli gunboats intercepted a Palestinian fishing boat near Beit Lahiya and detained four fishermen from the al-Sultan family, taking them to an unknown location.

An Israeli army spokeswoman told Ma'an Israeli naval forces "identified two vessels" that were outside of the "permitted fishing zone" in the area, saying they were further than six miles from shore.

The forces called on the boats to stop, fired warning shots into the air, shot "toward the vicinity of the vessels," and then took the fishermen for "questioning," the spokeswoman said.

Last Wednesday, Israeli forces detained two Palestinian fishermen in the same area.

Since the signing of a ceasefire agreement that ended 50 days of fighting between Israeli forces and Palestinian militants in Gaza on Aug. 26, the Israeli navy has in at least three instances fired at Gaza fishermen under the pretext that they had surpassed fishing zone limits.

Last Tuesday, fishermen told Ma'an Israeli forces fired at them with machine guns while they were fishing well within the six-mile limit near Rafah, in an apparent breach of the ceasefire deal.

The Israeli army confirmed the incident at the time but said only warning shots had been fired and that the fishermen were further than six miles from shore.

The Aug. 26 agreement stipulated that Israel would immediately expand the fishing zone off Gaza's coast, allowing fishermen to sail as far as six nautical miles from shore, and would continue to expand the area gradually.

Under the terms of the deal, Israel also agreed to ease its siege on the coastal enclave.

Prior to the recent agreement, Israeli forces maintained a limit of three nautical miles on all Gaza fishermen, opening fire at fishermen who strayed further, despite earlier agreements which had settled on a 20-mile limit.

The restrictions crippled Gaza's fishing industry and impoverished local fishermen.

Israeli warships open fire at fishermen off Gaza coast

Published yesterday (updated) 02/09/2014 21:24

(MaanImages/File)

 

GAZA CITY (Ma'an) -- Israeli forces opened fire at fishermen off the coast of the southern Gaza Strip on Tuesday, in apparent violation of the ceasefire agreement reached with Palestinian factions a week ago, fishermen said.

Palestinian fishermen told Ma'an that Israeli warships used machine guns to fire at their boats while they were sailing within the agreed-upon six-nautical-mile limit near Rafah.

No injuries were reported.

An Israeli army spokeswoman said fishermen "deviated from the designated fishing zone," and that navy soldiers fired warning shots into the air.

The fishermen then "backed away," the spokeswoman said.

Asked how far the fishermen were sailing from shore, the spokeswoman said she did not know the exact distance, but that it was further than six nautical miles.

Prior the recent agreement, Israeli forces maintained a limit of three nautical miles on all Gaza fishermen, opening fire at fishermen who strayed further, despite earlier Israeli agreements which had settled on a 20-mile limit. The restrictions crippled Gaza's fishing industry and impoverished local fishermen.

A ceasefire agreement reached on Aug. 26 stipulated that Israel would immediately expand the fishing zone off Gaza's coast, allowing fishermen to sail as many as six nautical miles from shore, and would continue to expand the area gradually. Under the terms of the deal, Israel also agreed to ease its siege on the coastal enclave.

Other unresolved issues such as the construction of a seaport and airport, the release of prisoners, and the demilitarization of factions in Gaza were to be negotiated a month later in Cairo.

Israel's assault on Gaza lasted seven weeks, left over 2,100 Palestinians dead and over 11,000 injured, the vast majority of them civilians. Some 71 Israelis also died in the fighting, 66 of them soldiers.

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In violation of truce, Israeli gunboats open fire at fishing boats

[ 02/09/2014 - 04:12 PM ]

GAZA, (PIC)-- Israeli navy boats opened fire on Tuesday morning at Palestinian  fishing boats off Rafah shores, southern Gaza Strip, as Israeli ground forces targeted agricultural lands in Khan Younis. Head of the Palestinian Fishermen Syndicate, Nizar Ayyash, said that Israeli navy forces opened fire at Palestinian fishermen off Rafah shores. No injuries were reported. Ayyash stated that the attack came in total violation of the ceasefire agreement that increased the fishing zone to 12 miles gradually. Meanwhile, Israeli soldiers manning watchtowers opened fire at agricultural lands in Khuzaa town in Khan Younis. No injuries were reported during the gunfire. In a similar violation, Israeli forces had opened fire last Thursday at a group of people in Shujaia neighborhood.