Israel navy opens fires at Palestine fishermen

Israeli Occupation Forces opened fire against Palestinian fishermen off the coast of the besieged Gaza Strip on Wednesday, reported Wafa news agency.

According to a Wafa correspondent, the Israeli naval forces intercepted a fishing boat in the Al-Sudaniya shore and attacked the fishermen on board, forcing them to flee for their safety.

Human rights organisations in Gaza have documented hundreds of Israeli violations against Palestinian fishermen since October 2000. Their boats have been damaged, destroyed or confiscated, and many have been killed and wounded by the Israeli Occupation navy.

Despite the Israel-Palestinian agreements which allow fishermen to work off the coast of Gaza for up to 12 nautical miles, the Occupation navy attacks fishermen almost every day and does not allow them to sail beyond three nautical miles.

The fishermen insist, understandably so, that this is not enough to catch a commercially-viable volume of fish.

No casualties were reported among the fishermen and the farmers on this occasion. The shooting incidents were part of the pressure placed on the Palestinians in Gaza living under the Israeli blockade.

Some 2.3 million Palestinians live in the narrow enclave. They are largely unable to leave to seek employment abroad, and have been squeezed by 15 years of a siege imposed by Israel.

The Occupation State has launched four major military offensives against the civilian population since 2008. Gaza also borders Egypt, which imposes its own restrictions on passage through the Rafah border crossing.

READ: Israel bans fish exports from Gaza to West Bank