Israel navy shoots sewage water at Gaza fishermen

The Israeli navy opened fire on Palestinian fishermen in Khan Yunis and Rafah this morning, in the southern part of the Gaza Strip, reported Wafa news agency.

According to a Wafa correspondent, the Israeli naval forces chased after the fishing boats, firing shots, and releasing sewage water at them in the area they were permitted to fish. No injuries were reported.

Israeli naval forces and their gunboats maintain a presence around Gaza fishermen almost every day, harassing them, shooting at them, damaging their boats and making arrests. As a result, fishermen are often injured or killed.

Under the 1993 Oslo Accords, Palestinian fishermen are permitted to fish up to 20 nautical miles off the coast of Gaza, but Israel has unilaterally reduced the fishing zone gradually to a limit of between three-six nautical miles as part of its blockade on Gaza.

Read: Are Palestinians facing Israel’s brutality alone?

Around 4,000 Palestinians work in Gaza’s fishing sector, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Agriculture. The profession has been deemed dangerous by rights organisations due to Israel’s harassment of fishermen at sea.

Israeli incursions on those fishermen in the waters of the besieged Gaza Strip are a common occurrence, with many Palestinian fishermen subject to Israeli live fire, attempts to sink or seize their boats, arrests and the narrowing of their fishing areas for long periods of time.