Israeli Navy Injures, Detains Fisherman off Gaza

Gaza, 23 Dzulqa’dah 1437/25 August 2016 (MINA) – Israeli naval boats on Thursday opened live fire and injured a Palestinian fisherman and detained him, while he was sailing offshore the coast of Gaza, according to local sources.

Witnesses told WAFA that Israeli naval boats attacked with gunfire several Palestinian fishermen while they were sailing off Gaza, injuring Abed Saadallah, 25, with a live shot. He was taken by the attacking force to nearby Ashdod seaport in southern Israel.

Israeli navy targets Gaza fishermen almost on a daily basis, in a blatant breach of a ceasefire agreement reached between Israel and armed Palestinian groups in august 2014, following 51 days of bloody aggression on the Gaza Strip, which claimed the lives of over 2.200 Palestinians, mostly civilians.

According to the Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR), all Israeli attacks on Palestinian fishermen have taken place within the distance of six nautical miles, which it said “proves that Israeli forces’ policies aim to tighten restrictions on the Gaza Strip’s fishermen and their livelihoods.”

There are around 4,000 fishermen working in Gaza, more than half of whom live below the poverty line. (T/R07/R01)

Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA)