Ref:
89/2010

In a
new crime of those committed against Palestinian civilians, on Friday morning,
24 September 2010, the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) killed a Palestinian
fisherman while fishing with his cousins opposite to al-Sudaniya beach in the
northern Gaza City. It should be noted
that Israeli gunboats daily chase Palestinian fishermen in the sea and threaten
their sources of livelihood through continuously firing at their boats,
detaining them and confiscating their fishing tools.

According
to investigations conducted by the Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR)
and the testimony of a fisherman, who was on the boat, at approximately 09:00
on Friday, 24 September 2010, Mohammed Mansour Bakr, 20, and three of his
cousins sailed on a boat belonging to their family opposite to al-Sudaniya
beach, north of Gaza City, for fishing. While they were 2,000
meters way from the beach and a similar distance from
the naval border, an Israeli gunboat approached at a distance of 100 meters and started
heavily firing at the fishing boat without any reason or warning. Mohammed was shot by a bullet to the right
side. He fell inside the boat and was bleeding
amidst screams of his cousins requesting Israeli soldiers to stop fire, as
Mohammed was wounded. However, the
Israeli soldiers continued to fire. Approximately 10:00 minutes later, IOF retreated, the Bakrs were able to
reach the beach, and transported their cousin to Kamal Nasser Hospital in Beit
Lahia, but he passed away.

PCHR
condemns this new crime and:

1) Calls upon the
international community, particularly the High Contracting Parties to the
Fourth Geneva Convention 1949, to immediately intervene and exert pressure on
IOF to stop all attacks on the Palestinian fishermen in the Gaza Strip,
including allowing them to freely sail and fish in the regional waters of the
Gaza Strip;

2) Calls for
immediate intervention to make IOF stop all forms of grave violations committed
against fishermen by its navy, including terrorizing fishermen, firing at them,
and confiscating their boats and fishing tools.