Israeli Gunboats Open Fire on Palestinian Fishing Boats west of Beit Lahyia

13-7-2010

Al Mezan

At app. 7:10pm on Tuesday 13 July 2010, Israeli naval vessels that patrol the sea opened fire on Palestinian fishing boats in Beit Lahyia in North Gaza District. No casualties or injuries were reported, but the fishermen were terrified and left the area without finishing their fishing.

IOF Arrests Two Palestinian Fishermen in Beit Hanoun

8-7-2010

Al Mezan

At app. 6:30am on Thursday 8 July 2010, Israeli naval vessels that patrol the sea opened fire on Palestinian fishing boats  north Al-Waha resort, west of Beit Lahyia town in the North-Gaza district. The IOF military boats moved towards two of the fishing boats and rounded one of  them. The IOF arrested two fishermen who were on the boat. Al Mezan identified their names as follows: ·         'Ammar As'ad Mohammed As-Sultan, 17, and ·         Tamer Mohammed Ahmed Zayis, 26. The IOF took them and their boat to unknown area.  The IOF chased the second boat, but it fled.

PCHR weekly report 1/7 - 6/7/2010: 1 boy fisherman injured by israeli navy fire

extracts from PCHR weekly report 1/7 - 6/7/2010

Israeli forces continued to fire at Palestinian farmers and workers in border areas of the Gaza Strip and fishermen at sea. 

- Two children were injured, one of them at sea and the other while collecting raw construction materials. 

 Monday, 05 July 2010

At approximately 10:30, Israeli gunboats positioned at sea near the Gaza port, west of Gaza city, fired at Palestinian fishing boats that were sailing approximately two miles off Gaza shore. 'Allam Naser Fadel Bakr, 14, from al-Shati refugee camp, was wounded as a result by two bullets in the abdomen. The boat, which belongs to Mahmoud Abu Hweidi, was struck by two bullets to its hull. On board was Mr. Bakr, his father Naser, 49, and his brother Yaser, 18.

Mr. Bakr and his father were transported by another boat to the shore. Mr. Bakr was then transported to al-Shifa Hospital for medical treatment, where his wounds were described as moderate.

Yaser Bakr, 'Allam's brother, told the PCHR fieldworker that he boarded a fishing boat with his father and his brother 'Allam at approximately 06:00. They sailed from the Gaza port and were anchored approximately two miles off the shore. They threw the net into the water at approximately 06:30. At approximately 10:30, they were surprised by firing coming from an Israeli gunboat which was approximately a half of a mile to the north. They sustained fire from the Israeli ship for approximately ten minutes. 'Allam was wounded by two bullets in the abdomen as a result and the boat was struck by two bullets in its hull Another Palestinian fishing boat transported 'Allam and his father to shore while Yaser remained on the boat. The motor of the boat was broken and Yaser remained on the boat until another Palestinian fishing boat came and pulled it to the shore.

Gaza fisherman reported injured by Israeli fire

Gaza – Ma'an – Israel's navy opened fire toward the coast of the Gaza Strip on Monday morning injuring a fisherman, a medical official said.

Alam Ghanem Baker, in his 20s, was treated for a bullet wound sustained while fishing off the northern coast near Gaza City, Gaza Health Ministry director of emergency and ambulance services Muawiya Hassanein said.

Witnesses said the navy also opened fire along the southern coast, where a shell landed on a beach west of Rafah. There were no reports of injury or damage in that incident.

An Israeli military spokeswoman said the army was not familiar with either incident.

Gaza's once-thriving fishing industry has withered away as naval forces restrict fishing boats to three nautical miles from the coast, a Red Cross report released in June said. With the total catch down 47 percent between 2008 and 2009, much of the fish entering Gaza now arrives from Israel and via tunnels, the report said.

Israeli armed boats shell fishing boats in Rafah, 1 injured 

 Gaza, July 5, 2010 (Pal Telegraph) - Israeli armed boats shelled today at Palestinian fishing boats in Rafah waters, local sources reported..

Witnesses said that Israeli armed boats shelled Palestinian fishing boats by ten shells on Rafah, south of Gaza Strip, no injuries were reported.
In Gaza water, Israeli armed boats opened fire at Gazan fishermen which injured Alam Baker while he was finishing.
The Director of Emergency Services at Al-Shefa Hospital, Dr. Muawiya Hassanein, said that the injured fisherman was transferred to Al-Shefa Hospital in Gaza city to receive medication.
Israeli gunboats stationed in the waters of Gaza target Palestinian fishing boats on a daily basis, claiming that they sail beyond the allowed distance of three miles.

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Al Mezan

5-7-2010

Israeli Gun Boats Open Fire on the Gaza Beach; One Person Injured

At app. 10:40am on Monday 5 July 2010, Israeli naval vessel that patrol the sea opened fire on the Gaza beach near the  harbor. As a result, 'Allam Nasar Bakir, 15, who was playing near the beach, was shot in the abdomen by two bullets. According to medical sources at Shifa Hospital, his injuries are described as moderate.

Gaza fishermen want change to siege

Gaza – Ma’an – Gaza's Fishers Union met Sunday at its headquarters in an effort to jointly articulate specific concerns and problems faced by fishermen, and propose solutions.

Union leader Saed Zyadeh said the meeting would be a venue to air concerns, and added that the union would do its best to raise those issues with local officials and international actors, if possible.

Zyadeh said he expected that the overwhelming issue would be the continual attacks by Israeli forces against fishing boats that venture outside the unilaterally-imposed three-mile fishing limit.

Fishermen have said it is next to impossible to take in a large catch within the Israeli-imposed limit, so many venture into deeper waters hoping for a larger haul. The risk has often cost fishermen their lives, or at least their boats, which are confiscated by Israeli naval officers and not often returned.

When Zyadeh collects the complaints and concerns of his union members, he said he intends to take them to human rights organizations and demand more protection for workers.

In 1995, the Oslo Accords mandated a 20-nautical mile limit to Gaza waters, more than enough space for the thousands of fishers who make their living off Gaza's coast. In 2002 and in the wake of violence during the Second Intifada, the Bertini sought to assuage Israeli concerns about weapons smuggling and reduced the sea-area under Gaza control to 12 nautical miles, just enough for fishers to maintain their livelihoods.

In 2006, Israel unilaterally decided to reduce the fishing limit to 6 nautical miles, during its war with Lebanon and following the capture of an Israeli soldier by Gaza resistance factions.

A second unilateral decision saw the fishing area reduced to three nautical miles during Israel's war on Gaza in December-January 2008-9.

PCHR weekly report 17/6 - 23/6/2010

extracts from PCHR weekly report 17/6 - 23/6/2010

Friday, 18 June 2010

At approximately 07:30, Israeli gunboats stationed off the coast of Beit Lahia beach in the northern Gaza Strip opened fire at Palestinian boats, forcing them to sail back to the beach. No casualties were reported. 

Israeli Gun Boats Open Fire on Palestinian Fishing Boats west of Beit Lahyia

18-6-2010

Al Mezan

At app. 7:45pm on Friday 18 June 2010, Israeli naval vessels that patrol the sea opened fire on Palestinian fishing boats in Beit Lahyia in North Gaza District. No casualties or injuries were reported, but the fishermen were terrified and left the area without finishing their fishing.