Wednesday, March 19, 2014

Israel targets Palestinian fishermen off Gaza coast


Palestinian fishermen repair a net in the port of Gaza. (File photo)



Israeli warships have opened fire on several Palestinian fishermen off the southern coast of the besieged Gaza Strip as the Tel Aviv regime’s aggression against Palestinians continues unabated.



Palestinian fishermen said Israeli forces have fired at them near the city of Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip, forcing the Palestinian fishing boats to sail back to shore. There were no reports of casualties.


On February 20, two Israeli gunboats fired shots at Gazan fishermen off the city of Rafah, situated 30 kilometers (19 miles) south of Gaza City, and near the Egyptian territorial waters.


A similar incident had taken place off the coast of Gaza City a day earlier.


Palestinian boats are permitted to fish up to six nautical miles from the Gaza coast according to the terms of Israel’s naval blockade on the impoverished enclave.


The fishing area was extended to six nautical miles from three on November 21, 2012 in the truce deal that ended an eight-day Israeli military assault on the Gaza Strip.


Gaza has been blockaded since June 2007, an act which has caused a decline in the standard of living as well as unprecedented levels of unemployment, and unrelenting poverty.


The apartheid regime of Israel denies about 1.7 million people in Gaza their basic rights, such as freedom of movement, jobs that pay proper wages and adequate healthcare and education.


The Palestinian Non-Governmental Organizations Network (PNGO), which represents more than 130 Palestinian civil society organizations, has called on the international community to end the “continuous Israeli siege.”


Several human rights organizations and civil groups have also criticized the Egyptian army for preventing the people in Gaza from accessing most of their basic goods like construction materials, food, and fuel.


MP/PR



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