Ref: 02/2014
Date: 9 January 2014
Time:10:00 GMT
Israeli Navy Forces Escalate their Attacks, Arrest Fisherman and Damage Fishing Boat
Since the first days of 2014 Israeli navy forces further escalated their attacks against Palestinian fishermen at sea. One fisherman got arrested while another one narrowly escaped when his boat was hit by 9 bullets. The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) strongly condemns the Israeli attacks against Palestinian fishermen. The attacks violate the fishermen’s right to livelihood and obstruct them from sailing freely. Their livelihood is already under serious threat as a result of of the illegal naval blockade imposed on the Gaza Strip.
According to investigations conducted by PCHR, at approximately 09:00 on Wednesday, 08 January 2014, Israeli gunboats stationed off Beit Lahia shore, in the northern Gaza Strip, opened fire at a group of fishing boats while sailing within the nautical mile limit. Two Israeli gunboats surrounded a fishing boat boarded by 3 fishermen: Mohammed Khader Abdul Sultan (26), and his 2 brothers Hamdi (23) and Ahmed (18). Israeli navy officers ordered the 3 fishermen to take their clothes off, jump into the water and swim towards a gunboat, but the fishermen refused. Mohammed and Hamdi informed the soldiers that their brother Ahmed is a cardiac patient and could not jump and swim in the sea. Israeli officers nevertheless ordered them again to swim to a gunboat. Israeli forces arrested Mohammed and took him northwards to Ashdod seaport. He was released the same day at 19:00 after he was interrogated.
Since the beginning of 2014, PCHR has documented 7 shooting incidents at fishing boats within the 3 nautical miles limit. Many fishermen confirmed that the Israeli navy forces pursue and open fire at them to prevent them from sailing beyond 4.5 nautical miles. PCHR also documented the pursuit of Palestinian fishing boats within a single nautical mile limit along the northern borders of the Gaza Strip and a single nautical mile along the Palestinian-Egyptian borders.
Five fishermen had a close shave when Israeli navy forces opened fire at their boats directly. The fisherman Majed Fadel Baker (55), from Gaza City, said that he sailed on 04 January 2014 in the company of 4 other fishermen, all his relatives, on board of his boat within the 3 nautical miles limit. Baker added that his boat had been fired at by an Israeli gunboat for 10 minutes. He stated that he and the other fishermen had a close shave as the boat was hit by 9 bullets. The 5 fishermen had a narrow escape when the boat started to sink, but managed to sail back safely to the shore.
PCHR strongly condemns the Israeli constant attacks against the Palestinian fishermen in the Gaza Strip, and:
