| [ 07/01/2014 - 10:31 AM ] |
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GAZA, (PIC)-- Israeli navy boats opened machinegun fire at Palestinian fishing boats off the coast of northern Gaza Strip on Tuesday morning. Palestinian sources said that no casualties were reported in the shooting that took place while the fishermen while trying to fish in Gaza’s regional waters. The Israeli navy restricts the fishing area for the Palestinian fishermen to less than six nautical miles that was specified in the calm agreement brokered between Palestinian resistance and the Israeli occupation authorities under Egyptian auspices in November 2011. |
Tuesday, January 7, 2014
Israeli navy boats open fire at Palestinian fishing boats
Monday, January 6, 2014
Israeli gunboats fire at Palestinian fishing boats
| [ 06/01/2014 - 11:21 AM ] |
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GAZA, (PIC)-- Israeli navy gunboats opened heavy machinegun fire at Palestinian fishing boats off the coast of northern Gaza Strip on Monday morning. Eyewitnesses said that the shooting forced the fishermen to abandon their ships and go back to land. No casualties were reported. Israeli navy targets Palestinian fishing boats off the coasts of Gaza Strip on daily basis and deprive them of their right to fish outside a restricted area of three nautical miles. |
Saturday, January 4, 2014
Gaza fishermen suffer 85 percent income loss as Israeli siege, attacks continue
4th January 2014 | The Electronic Intifada, Joe Catron | Gaza City, Occupied Palestine
On 17 December, Palestinian fishermen and their supporters erected a tent — a traditional venue for protest, as well as celebration and mourning — inside the Gaza seaport.
“It was to highlight the situation, the crimes of the Israelis against fishermen here,” said Amjad al-Shrafi, treasurer of the General Union of Fishermen. “We wanted to send a message about the blockade against the fishermen and how we cannot fish freely.”
The protest, organized under the title Free the Holy Land Sea, ended two days later with the delivery of a letter to the nearby office of the United Nations Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, demanding international protection for fishermen.
Over three days, hundreds of well-wishers visited a crowded tent decorated with banners and posters supporting fishermen. The organizations represented on its walls ranged from human rights centers to prisoner support groups.
Under fire
“One of our main goals was to push governments around the world to force Israel to give fishermen free lives and let us sail without any limits,” al-Shrafi said. “It’s our right to sail freely in our waters.”
“Another was to pressure the Israeli forces to release the boats and fishermen they have captured.”
Palestinian fishermen in coastal waters off the Gaza Strip frequently come under fire byIsraeli naval forces, which target their boats on both sides of a boundary imposed by Israel.
Israel deploys its gunships into Palestinian waters using an information technology infrastructure administered by Hewlett-Packard (“Technologies of control: The case of Hewlett-Packard,” Who Profits, December 2011).
Through its subsidiary, HP Israel, the US corporation won a contract to run the Israeli navy’s computer and communications network in August 2006 (“HP Israel wins navy IT outsourcing contract,” Globes, 14 August 2006).
The fishing area permitted by Israel, which doubled in size as part of the ceasefire agreement ending eight days of Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip and retaliatory fire by Palestinian resistance groups in November 2012, now officially reaches six nautical miles from the shore.
But fishermen say the Israeli navy often shoots at them and sometimes captures them and their boats well within the zone it ostensibly allows them.
Captured
“We
were far from the prohibited zone, 500 meters away,” said Saddam Abu
Warda, a 23-year-old fisherman whom the Israeli navy captured along with
his 18-year-old brother Mahmoud around 9am on 10 November.
“They were shouting, ‘You must get out of here in five minutes.’ We had to cut the net to pull it out of the water. Then they started to fire bullets close to our hasaka [small boat]. As they came close to us, their boat looked like a big building with lights.”
The Abu Wardas’ small boat had no engine. “We tried to escape by paddling quickly,” Saddam Abu Warda said. “They forced us to take off our clothes and raise our hands. They were firing bullets in the air and in front of our hasaka. One soldier was shouting, ‘You have to leave your hasaka and get in the water.’ I was shocked. I couldn’t move. I didn’t know why.”
Finally, gunfire forced the brothers into the cold water. “They didn’t stop firing bullets over our heads,” Abu Warda said. “I was far from my brother. He started shouting, saying, ‘I am injured.’ He wasn’t able to keep swimming. I swam back to my brother to try and save him. His blood was [spilling] in the water. Then two small boats came close to us. They pulled my brother from the water. They didn’t take me.”
When Abu Warda reached the Israeli gunship, he lost consciousness after soldiers bound, hooded and kicked him. He awoke in a detention facility in Ashdod, a port in present-day Israel beside his brother Mahmoud, whose right abdomen was stitched by military physicians. The brothers said that Israeli bullets caused the wound.
During an interrogation after he awoke, an Israeli soldier tried to convince him otherwise. “I told him, ‘Three of your gunboats were around us. They were firing bullets. My brother’s blood was everywhere in the water. He was injured by your soldiers.’”
After a lengthy interrogation that continued both in Ashdod port and after their transfer to a detention center by the Erez crossing between Gaza and present-day Israel, Israeli forces released the Abu Wardas into the northern Gaza town of Beit Hanoun around 10pm — 13 hours after their capture. Their boat and its equipment remained behind.
“We have three hasakas in the Ashdod port,” Abu Warda said of his family’s prior losses to the Israeli navy.
Severe damage
The Abu Wardas’ experiences echo many more documented in a new report by thePalestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR). The PCHR, which supported the Free the Holy Land Sea campaign, is translating the document — already published in Arabic — into English.
Over four years, from 1 September 2009 through 31 August 2013, the Israeli navy killed two fishermen, wounded 24, and captured 147, according to the report. The navy also seized 45 boats and destroyed or damaged 113 more.
The report also records the losses incurred by about thirty bombings of four fishing ports during Israel’s November 2012 attacks on the Gaza Strip, including damages to an additional 80 boats and destruction of a health clinic and a youth center used by fishermen.
“There was severe damage to different fishing facilities during the military offensive,” said Khalil Shaheen, director of PCHR’s economic and social rights unit.” At the ports in Gaza City, Middle Area, Khan Younis and Rafah, different facilities were targeted and destroyed.”
“The report also documents the impact of the total damage to fishermen and the fishing sector,” Shaheen added. “One of the main impacts was the loss of 85 percent of income in the fishing sector, as the result of access restrictions and the naval blockade.”
Casualties have continued to mount in the four months since the period covered by the report ended. The PCHR publishes regular reports on human rights abuses in Gaza. These reports indicate that Israel has shot at fishermen at least 37 times since September, as well as seizing six boats.
“I would like to thank all the solidarity campaigns who were involved in this action and show solidarity with Palestinian fishermen,” al-Shrafi said.
“We ask that the international community continue to pressure their governments, to ask for dignity and a free life for us.”
Joe Catron is a US activist in Gaza, Palestine. He co-edited The Prisoners’ Diaries: Palestinian Voices from the Israeli Gulag, an anthology of accounts by detainees freed in the 2011 prisoner exchange. He blogs at joecatron.wordpress.com and tweets @jncatron.
Small fishing boats, or hasakat, moored in the Gaza seaport. (Photo by Charlie Andreasson)
“It was to highlight the situation, the crimes of the Israelis against fishermen here,” said Amjad al-Shrafi, treasurer of the General Union of Fishermen. “We wanted to send a message about the blockade against the fishermen and how we cannot fish freely.”
The protest, organized under the title Free the Holy Land Sea, ended two days later with the delivery of a letter to the nearby office of the United Nations Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, demanding international protection for fishermen.
Over three days, hundreds of well-wishers visited a crowded tent decorated with banners and posters supporting fishermen. The organizations represented on its walls ranged from human rights centers to prisoner support groups.
Under fire
“One of our main goals was to push governments around the world to force Israel to give fishermen free lives and let us sail without any limits,” al-Shrafi said. “It’s our right to sail freely in our waters.”
“Another was to pressure the Israeli forces to release the boats and fishermen they have captured.”
Palestinian fishermen in coastal waters off the Gaza Strip frequently come under fire byIsraeli naval forces, which target their boats on both sides of a boundary imposed by Israel.
Israel deploys its gunships into Palestinian waters using an information technology infrastructure administered by Hewlett-Packard (“Technologies of control: The case of Hewlett-Packard,” Who Profits, December 2011).
Through its subsidiary, HP Israel, the US corporation won a contract to run the Israeli navy’s computer and communications network in August 2006 (“HP Israel wins navy IT outsourcing contract,” Globes, 14 August 2006).
The fishing area permitted by Israel, which doubled in size as part of the ceasefire agreement ending eight days of Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip and retaliatory fire by Palestinian resistance groups in November 2012, now officially reaches six nautical miles from the shore.
But fishermen say the Israeli navy often shoots at them and sometimes captures them and their boats well within the zone it ostensibly allows them.
Captured
Fishermen
and supporters hold posters with images of colleagues captured by
Israeli forces, in Gaza City on 19 December 2013. (Photo by Joe Catron)
“They were shouting, ‘You must get out of here in five minutes.’ We had to cut the net to pull it out of the water. Then they started to fire bullets close to our hasaka [small boat]. As they came close to us, their boat looked like a big building with lights.”
The Abu Wardas’ small boat had no engine. “We tried to escape by paddling quickly,” Saddam Abu Warda said. “They forced us to take off our clothes and raise our hands. They were firing bullets in the air and in front of our hasaka. One soldier was shouting, ‘You have to leave your hasaka and get in the water.’ I was shocked. I couldn’t move. I didn’t know why.”
Finally, gunfire forced the brothers into the cold water. “They didn’t stop firing bullets over our heads,” Abu Warda said. “I was far from my brother. He started shouting, saying, ‘I am injured.’ He wasn’t able to keep swimming. I swam back to my brother to try and save him. His blood was [spilling] in the water. Then two small boats came close to us. They pulled my brother from the water. They didn’t take me.”
When Abu Warda reached the Israeli gunship, he lost consciousness after soldiers bound, hooded and kicked him. He awoke in a detention facility in Ashdod, a port in present-day Israel beside his brother Mahmoud, whose right abdomen was stitched by military physicians. The brothers said that Israeli bullets caused the wound.
During an interrogation after he awoke, an Israeli soldier tried to convince him otherwise. “I told him, ‘Three of your gunboats were around us. They were firing bullets. My brother’s blood was everywhere in the water. He was injured by your soldiers.’”
After a lengthy interrogation that continued both in Ashdod port and after their transfer to a detention center by the Erez crossing between Gaza and present-day Israel, Israeli forces released the Abu Wardas into the northern Gaza town of Beit Hanoun around 10pm — 13 hours after their capture. Their boat and its equipment remained behind.
“We have three hasakas in the Ashdod port,” Abu Warda said of his family’s prior losses to the Israeli navy.
Severe damage
The Abu Wardas’ experiences echo many more documented in a new report by thePalestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR). The PCHR, which supported the Free the Holy Land Sea campaign, is translating the document — already published in Arabic — into English.
Over four years, from 1 September 2009 through 31 August 2013, the Israeli navy killed two fishermen, wounded 24, and captured 147, according to the report. The navy also seized 45 boats and destroyed or damaged 113 more.
The report also records the losses incurred by about thirty bombings of four fishing ports during Israel’s November 2012 attacks on the Gaza Strip, including damages to an additional 80 boats and destruction of a health clinic and a youth center used by fishermen.
“There was severe damage to different fishing facilities during the military offensive,” said Khalil Shaheen, director of PCHR’s economic and social rights unit.” At the ports in Gaza City, Middle Area, Khan Younis and Rafah, different facilities were targeted and destroyed.”
“The report also documents the impact of the total damage to fishermen and the fishing sector,” Shaheen added. “One of the main impacts was the loss of 85 percent of income in the fishing sector, as the result of access restrictions and the naval blockade.”
Casualties have continued to mount in the four months since the period covered by the report ended. The PCHR publishes regular reports on human rights abuses in Gaza. These reports indicate that Israel has shot at fishermen at least 37 times since September, as well as seizing six boats.
“I would like to thank all the solidarity campaigns who were involved in this action and show solidarity with Palestinian fishermen,” al-Shrafi said.
“We ask that the international community continue to pressure their governments, to ask for dignity and a free life for us.”
Joe Catron is a US activist in Gaza, Palestine. He co-edited The Prisoners’ Diaries: Palestinian Voices from the Israeli Gulag, an anthology of accounts by detainees freed in the 2011 prisoner exchange. He blogs at joecatron.wordpress.com and tweets @jncatron.
Tuesday, December 24, 2013
Israeli Naval Forces Confiscated Fishing Boat and Equipment in the Gaza Waters
PCHR
Tuesday, 24 December 2013 00:00
Tuesday, 24 December 2013 00:00
Date: 127/2013
Israeli
Naval Forces stationed off Beit Lahia shore in the northern Gaza Strip confiscated
a Palestinian fishing boat anchored at approximately 5 nautical miles off
al-Wahah shore in Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip the area, and then
pulled it. The Palestinian Center for
Human Rights (PCHR) condemns the continued targeting of fishermen and their
livelihoods. Economic and social rights of fishermen have been violated by the
illegal naval blockade imposed by Israeli authorities on the Gaza waters since
June 2007.
According to investigations conducted by PCHR, at
approximately 12:15 on Tuesday, 23 December 2013, a group of Palestinian
fishermen, who were sailing on a boat, saw an Israeli gunboat accompanied with
two small rubber boats boarded by Israeli naval forces heading to a Palestinian
boat anchored in the sea at approximately 5 nautical miles off al-Wahah shore
in Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip.
One of the fishermen said that he saw the Israeli forces pulling the
Palestinian boat belonging to ‘Adel Sa’id Mohammed Abu Ryalah (41) from Shati’a
refugee camp in Gaza City. They then
headed to the north to the Israeli waters.
‘Adel Abu Ryalah said to a PCHR fieldworker that at approximately 15:00
on Monday, 22 December 2013, he sailed his boat, which holds license no. 12385,
and went with a number of boats to al-Wahah shore in Beit Lahia. They arrived at approximately 5 nautical
miles. He added that he anchored the
boat, which has no engine and 2 generators, 5 searchlights, and two paddles on
board, in the waters. He then left the
sea on another boat. He said that after
the recent storm, he is used to leaving daily the boat and coming back in the
next day as he used it for bringing fish.
Abu Ryalah also said that on Tuesday he sailed to the same area, where
his boat was anchored, as he knew from fishermen, who were on the board of
another boat, that the Israeli naval forces confiscated his boat.
PCHR condemns the continued Israeli attacks against
Palestinian fishermen in the Gaza Strip, and:
1. Calls for immediately stopping the policy of chasing
and arresting Palestinian fishermen, and allowing them to sail and fish freely;
2. Demands compensation for the fishermen for the
physical and material damage caused to them and their property as a result of
these violations;
3. Calls upon the international community, including the
High Contracting Parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949 Relative to
the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War, to immediately intervene to
stop the Israeli violations against the Palestinian fishermen and to allow them
to sail and fish freely in the Gaza Sea.
Monday, December 23, 2013
Gaza: “Free the Holy Land sea”
23rd December 2013 | International Solidarity Movement, Rosa Schiano | Gaza, Occupied Palestine
“Free
the Holy Land sea” was a three-day protest by fishermen in Gaza which
began on Tuesday, 17th November. The fishermen, supported by the
Palestinian Center for Human Rights and al-Mezan Center for Human
Rights, set up a tent at the Gaza seaport in which photographs showing
Israeli violations were exhibited, along with banners in solidarity with
the fishermen.
In the tent were fishermen, international and Palestinian activists for the rights of fishermen and political prisoners, and representatives of human rights centers. Politicians came to give their greetings and express solidarity with the fishermen.
“Since last year, massive attacks against Palestinian fishermen have become a practice of the Israeli naval forces,” said Khalil Shaheen, director of the economics and social rights unit at the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights. “The attack on the fundamental rights of the fishermen, their livelihoods, makes the lives of thousands of fishermen impossible. From September 2009 until the current day, two Palestinian fishermen have been killed, 24 injured, at least 150 arrested, 49 boats seized by the Israeli forces, and at least 120 boats destroyed partially or totally, including during the last military operation, Pillar of Defense, in which harbors were also bombed.”
“Palestinian fishermen are losing 85% of their annual income due to the restrictions in the maritime area and the naval blockade,” Shaheen added. ”I think it’s very important to send a clear message in support of the fishermen. For Christmas and the New Year, Palestinian fishermen ask their friends and brothers in the rest of the world to convince the Israeli occupation to end the illegal blockade in Gaza, and to free the Holy Land sea, to grant them their rights.”
Among
the fishermen present at the event, Salim al-Faseh, age 57, was wounded
by Israeli military fire in September while fishing on a trawler about
six miles offshore. The bullets severed the little finger of his right
hand and destroyed part of the internal tissue. Salim will have to wait
for his surgery in February, when an internal fixator will be removed,
to know if he can use his fingers again. “God willing, this event will
help the fishermen,” al-Faseh said.
“The fishing sector is the sector that suffers the most in Gaza,” he added. “We suffer from lack of fuel, the limits imposed on the fishing area, the unsuitable materials. Everything is making the profession of fishing die.”
The port was calm under a blue sky. After the raging storm and incessant rain that flooded roads and houses in the Gaza Strip, the sun was shining again. Some fishermen were harvesting small fish from their nets. Others sat under the sun and spoke of their daily problems, especially the economic difficulties faced by Gaza fishermen.
The Israeli blockade on the Gaza Strip affects Palestinians’ economic and social conditions. More than 75,000 people depend on the fishing industry as the main source of their livelihood.
Israel has progressively restricted Palestinian fishermen’s access to the sea. The 20 nautical miles established under the Gaza-Jericho Agreement between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) in 1994 were reduced to 12 miles in the Bertini Agreement of 2002. In 2006, the area Israel allowed for fishing was reduced to six nautical miles from the coast. After its “Operation Cast Lead” military offensive (December 2008 – January 2009) Israel imposed a limit of three nautical miles from the coast, preventing Palestinians from accessing 85% of the water to which they are entitled under the Gaza-Jericho Agreement.
Under the ceasefire agreement by Israel and the Palestinian resistance after the Israeli “Operation Pillar of Defense” military offensive (November 2012), Israel agreed that Palestinian fishermen could again sail six nautical miles from the coast. Despite these agreements, the Israeli navy has not stopped its attacks on fishermen, even within this limit. In March 2013, Israel once again imposed a limit of three nautical miles from the coast. On 22 May, Israeli military authorities announced a decision to restore the limit to six nautical miles.
In the month of November alone, PCHR reports 12 attacks. During one, gunfire injured a fisherman. Overall six fishermen were arrested and six boats confiscated. These attacks constitute a violation of the international humanitarian law.
At the end of the event, fishermen, along with human rights organizations, submitted a letter to the United Nations Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process office in Gaza City.
Fisherman and their boats in the Gaza seaport. (Photo by Rosa Schiano)
In the tent were fishermen, international and Palestinian activists for the rights of fishermen and political prisoners, and representatives of human rights centers. Politicians came to give their greetings and express solidarity with the fishermen.
“Since last year, massive attacks against Palestinian fishermen have become a practice of the Israeli naval forces,” said Khalil Shaheen, director of the economics and social rights unit at the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights. “The attack on the fundamental rights of the fishermen, their livelihoods, makes the lives of thousands of fishermen impossible. From September 2009 until the current day, two Palestinian fishermen have been killed, 24 injured, at least 150 arrested, 49 boats seized by the Israeli forces, and at least 120 boats destroyed partially or totally, including during the last military operation, Pillar of Defense, in which harbors were also bombed.”
“Palestinian fishermen are losing 85% of their annual income due to the restrictions in the maritime area and the naval blockade,” Shaheen added. ”I think it’s very important to send a clear message in support of the fishermen. For Christmas and the New Year, Palestinian fishermen ask their friends and brothers in the rest of the world to convince the Israeli occupation to end the illegal blockade in Gaza, and to free the Holy Land sea, to grant them their rights.”
Salim al-Faseh. (Photo by Rosa Schiano)
“The fishing sector is the sector that suffers the most in Gaza,” he added. “We suffer from lack of fuel, the limits imposed on the fishing area, the unsuitable materials. Everything is making the profession of fishing die.”
The port was calm under a blue sky. After the raging storm and incessant rain that flooded roads and houses in the Gaza Strip, the sun was shining again. Some fishermen were harvesting small fish from their nets. Others sat under the sun and spoke of their daily problems, especially the economic difficulties faced by Gaza fishermen.
The Israeli blockade on the Gaza Strip affects Palestinians’ economic and social conditions. More than 75,000 people depend on the fishing industry as the main source of their livelihood.
Israel has progressively restricted Palestinian fishermen’s access to the sea. The 20 nautical miles established under the Gaza-Jericho Agreement between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) in 1994 were reduced to 12 miles in the Bertini Agreement of 2002. In 2006, the area Israel allowed for fishing was reduced to six nautical miles from the coast. After its “Operation Cast Lead” military offensive (December 2008 – January 2009) Israel imposed a limit of three nautical miles from the coast, preventing Palestinians from accessing 85% of the water to which they are entitled under the Gaza-Jericho Agreement.
Under the ceasefire agreement by Israel and the Palestinian resistance after the Israeli “Operation Pillar of Defense” military offensive (November 2012), Israel agreed that Palestinian fishermen could again sail six nautical miles from the coast. Despite these agreements, the Israeli navy has not stopped its attacks on fishermen, even within this limit. In March 2013, Israel once again imposed a limit of three nautical miles from the coast. On 22 May, Israeli military authorities announced a decision to restore the limit to six nautical miles.
In the month of November alone, PCHR reports 12 attacks. During one, gunfire injured a fisherman. Overall six fishermen were arrested and six boats confiscated. These attacks constitute a violation of the international humanitarian law.
At the end of the event, fishermen, along with human rights organizations, submitted a letter to the United Nations Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process office in Gaza City.
-
- (Photo by Rosa Schiano)
-
- (Photo by Rosa Schiano)
Sunday, December 22, 2013
Israeli gunboats fire on Palestinian fishermen north of Gaza
hermen north of Gaza
Published Sunday 22/12/2013 (updated) 22/12/2013 20:21
(MaanImages/file)
GAZA (Ma'an) -- Israeli
gunboats fired two shells toward Palestinian fishing boats in the
Sudaniya area in the northwestern Gaza Strip on Saturday evening, a
witness said.
The eyewitness added that no injuries were reported from the shelling.
The Gaza Strip has been under a severe blockade imposed by the State of Israel since 2006.
Palestinian fishermen are only allowed to go 3 nautical miles from Gaza's shore, even though Israeli-Palestinian agreement previously agreed on 20 nautical miles. Israeli naval forces frequently harass Palestinian fishermen who near the 3-mile limit, as well as those inside the zone.
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 has severely limited the imports and exports of the Gaza Strip and has led to frequent humanitarian crises and hardship for Gazans.
The eyewitness added that no injuries were reported from the shelling.
The Gaza Strip has been under a severe blockade imposed by the State of Israel since 2006.
Palestinian fishermen are only allowed to go 3 nautical miles from Gaza's shore, even though Israeli-Palestinian agreement previously agreed on 20 nautical miles. Israeli naval forces frequently harass Palestinian fishermen who near the 3-mile limit, as well as those inside the zone.
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 has severely limited the imports and exports of the Gaza Strip and has led to frequent humanitarian crises and hardship for Gazans.
Thursday, December 19, 2013
Israeli naval forces chased Palestinian fishermen and confiscated their fishing equipment in the Gaza waters
19th December 2013 | Palestinian Centre for Human Rights| Occupied Palestine
Israeli
Naval Forces stationed off Beit Lahi shore in the northern Gaza Strip
opened fire at Palestinian fishing boats in 4 separate incidents while
sailing between 600 meters and 3 nautical miles. Israeli naval forces
also confiscated 24 fishing nets. The Palestinian Center for Human
Rights (PCHR) expresses concern over the continued targeting of
fishermen and their livelihoods. Economic and social rights of fishermen
have been violated by the illegal naval blockade imposed by Israeli
authorities on the Gaza waters since June 2007.
According
to investigations conducted by PCHR, at approximately 10:40 on
Wednesday, 18 December 2013, Israeli gunboats opened fire at a
Palestinian fishing boat that was sailing about 600 meters off al-Wahah
shore in Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip. Two gunboats surrounded
the fishing boat that was boarded by 3 fishermen: Mahmoud ‘Ali ‘Arouq
(16); his brother Mohammed (22); and Jom’aah Amin ‘Arouq (24). Israeli
naval forces ordered them to stop fishing and give themselves up, but
they refused and fled away. The naval forces confiscated 14 fishing nets
whose total lengths are 840 meters. Mahmoud ‘Ali ‘Arouq (28) said that
they left the waters to the shore and watched the gunboats hoping that
they would regain the fishing nets. However, the gunboats confiscated
the fishing nets and left the place.
In
another incident, at approximately 12:30 yesterday, 18 December 2013,
Israeli gunboats opened fire at a fishing boat belonging to Khalid ‘Awad
al-Kafranah, from Beit Hanoun in the northern Gaza Strip, while sailing
at approximately 1.5 nautical miles off al-Wahah shore in Beit Lahia in
the northern Gaza Strip. Israeli naval forces then confiscated 10
fishing nets.
In
a third incident, at approximately 06:00 on Tuesday, 17 December 2013,
Israeli gunboats stationed off al-Wahah shore in Beit Lahia in the
northern Gaza Strip opened fire in the vicinity of Palestinian fishing
boats that were sailing approximately 3 nautical miles offshore. The
shooting continued for about 10 minutes, so fishermen were forced to
flee for fear of being attacked.
In
a fourth incident, at approximately 14:10 on Monday, 16 December 2013,
Israeli gunboats stationed off al-Wahah shore in Beit Lahia in the
northern Gaza Strip opened fire in the vicinity of the Palestinian
fishing boats that were sailing at approximately 3 nautical miles
offshore. The shooting continued for about 15 minutes, so fishermen
were forced to flee for fear of being attacked.
PCHR condemns the continued Israeli attacks against Palestinian fishermen in the Gaza Strip, and:
1. Calls
for immediately stopping the policy of chasing and arresting
Palestinian fishermen, and allowing them to sail and fish freely;
2. Demands
compensation for the fishermen for the physical and material damage
caused to them and their property as a result of these violations;
3. Calls
upon the international community, including the High Contracting
Parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949 Relative to the
Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War, to immediately intervene
to stop the Israeli violations against the Palestinian fishermen and to
allow them to sail and fish freely in the Gaza Sea.
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