HAMAS: ISRAEL’S MURDER OF PALESTINIAN FISHERMAN SERIOUS VIOLATION

**Hamas holds Israeli occupation responsible for the consequences of murdering a Palestinian fisherman, who succumbed to his wounds after he was shot in Gaza sea**.(Photo: PIC)

Gaza, 18 Jumadal Awwal 1436/9 March 2015 (MINA) – Hamas on Saturday (7/3) held the Israeli occupation responsible for the consequences of murdering a Palestinian fisherman, who succumbed to his wounds after he was shot in Gaza sea.

“Israel’s shooting of the fisherman Tawfiq Abu Riyala is a flagrant violation of the ceasefire accord signed in Cairo,’’ Hamas spokesperson Sami Abu Zuhri said in a statement, Palestinian Information Center (PIC) quoted by Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA) as reporting.

“The Israeli occupation should assume responsibility for all the repercussions of such a crime,’’ he added.

The fisherman Tawfiq Abu Riyala (34), died of his wounds after he was shot by the Israeli navy fire while onboard his fishing boat in Palestinian territorial waters at the crack of dawn, on his way to earn a living for his children.

Gaza’s fishermen syndicate declared a three-day strike in protest at Israel’s shooting and killing of Abu Riyala and the ongoing attacks on Palestinian fishermen.

Three Palestinians have been killed so far in the blockaded Gaza Strip by the Israeli occupation forces since last summer’s 51-day offensive on the coastal besieged enclave which took away the lives of over 2,300 Palestinians, mostly civilians.

Israeli army on Saturday announced, via gunboat loudspeakers, a decision to reduce fishing space off the coast of the Gaza Strip to four nautical miles from the six miles agreed upon as part of last summer’s cease-fire agreement.

The Cairo-brokered truce deal allowed Palestinian fishermen to ply their trade up to six nautical miles off the Gaza coast. (T/P006/P3)

Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA)