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Israel bans Palestinians from fishing off Gaza coast

The blockade imposed on Gaza deprives the two million strong Palestinian population of basic necessities such as water, electricity and the right to freedom of movement

June 13, 2019 at 1:42 pm

The Israeli army yesterday imposed a naval siege on the Gaza Strip which will last “until further notice”, according to an army statement.

This move comes after Israeli occupation authorities further restricted the Gaza fishing zone to six nautical miles on Tuesday. Israeli authorities had reduced the fishing zone from 15 to ten nautical miles last week.

The army cited incendiary balloons as the reason for the siege. According to Israeli news agency Haaretz, helium balloons carrying flammable materials from Gaza led to eight fires in southern Israel yesterday.

Palestinians have been take part in the Great March of Return protests since 30 March 2018 near the Israel-Gaza fence calling for an end to 12-year siege and their right to return to homes from which their families were forced out in 1948 to make way for the creation of the state of Israel.

The blockade imposed on Gaza deprives the two million strong Palestinian population of basic necessities such as water, electricity and the right to freedom of movement.

According to a PLO report, 27 Palestinians were killed in Israeli attacks on Gaza in May alone, including a paramedic, four women and four children.

READ: Israel army unveils electro-optic sight to intercept incendiary balloons