Author: ISM Media Group

ISM Rafah: Fishing under occupation

Report written by Donna Wallach, ISM volunteer in Gaza City, Gaza Strip, Palestine

Gaza City, Gaza Strip, Palestine, 21st September, 2008. On Sunday 21st September, about 5 fishing boats trawled the coast from the Gaza City port. I was on a boat that had been water cannoned the previous day and many of their nets had been damaged as a result. The crew spent most of the morning repairing the nets and at 11:40am we finally left the port for a full day of trawling.

At 12:30pm in the distance we saw two Israeli Naval gunboats, one was very large and was equipped with the water cannon. The regular sized gunboat started patrolling between three fishing boats that were in the same area. At 12:55pm that gunboat started harassing and shooting at one of the fishing boats headed south. I don’t know how far it was offshore, but it definitely wasn’t beyond six miles. At 1:10pm that same gunboat shot at the boat I was on and a soldier yelled “Go south”.

After some time passed and the gunboat was not in the area, the captain of our boat steered towards the north, there are larger fish in the northern Gazan waters, and apparently very tasty – and the fishermen REALLY wanted to catch as many of those fish as they could this day.

As we continued in our north east direction we saw the gunboat with the water cannon pass in the distance. At 1:40pm we saw another regular sized Israeli Naval gunboat approaching. It moved alongside in a threatening move as if to say, don’t go out any further into the sea! Ten minutes later the water cannon gunboat arrived and dowsed our boat and most of the crew with high powered blasts of water. One crew member, Ahmed, fell on the slippery deck and hurt his knee. For some unknown reason the gunboat only water cannoned us once for a brief time, causing no damage to the boat or the nets. I do not know what impact the water cannon has on the fish, much of the high powered blasts of water hit the sea and often times the net too. In any case, as in previous occasions, the smaller gunboat positioned itself on the opposite side of our boat from the water cannon gunboat, ready to shoot and posing a threat, besides blocking us in from escape from the deluge of high powered water. In addition, there were strong waves from the movement of the larger gunboat making our boat rock from side to side and increasing the danger from the blasting water and wet, slippery deck.

Later on in the afternoon, around 3:10, another Israeli Naval gunboat approached very quickly and forced us away from our position in the north of the Gazan territorial fishing waters. Soldiers were shouting to go south, among other things. The gunboat continued to circle our boat in very close proximity and was threatening to shoot. As we changed course and headed south, the gunboat proceeded to circle the boat for a while, and then left.

After the gunboat had been gone for a while, the captain of our boat changed course again and returned to the north, heading closer to shore, the goal of catching that specific fish had not been abandoned. At 4:00pm an Israeli Naval gunboat quickly approached, as it drew nearer I spoke on the VHF informing the Navy that “we are Palestinian fishermen, we are pulling in our net of fish. We have the right to be here. These are internationally recognized Gazan fishing waters. Over.” I repeated this a number of times. Finally a soldier on the gunboat arrogantly replied: “You don’t have the right to be here. Take your fish and go south.” We continued to pull in the net and headed south and out to sea. Only two netfulls of fish and neither of them were big catches, however, they did succeed to catch a number of boxes of the fish they were fishing for and for that they were happy.

The fishing boat headed into port after the sun set, and after eating the evening meal breaking the Ramadan fast for the day. They dropped me off, thanked me for my support, and headed back out to sea for an entire night of fishing. They had been fishing for two days and nights already.

The Israeli Navy controls the Gazan territorial waters under its illegal Occupation of the entire region and its siege of the Gaza Strip. Every day Palestinian fishermen face very real threats to their livelihood, their well being and their lives – a direct result of this decades long Israeli Occupation and this 2 year long siege. The Palestinian fishermen have the human right to a livelihood – to go out and fish, earn a living, feed their families and live their lives. The siege must end, the Occupation must end.

Israeli army open fire on civilians at Huwarra checkpoint

Israeli soldiers opened fire on civilians at Huwarra checkpoint at 8am on Monday 22nd September.


Photo by Nadal Shtayah

The gunfire followed an alleged attempt by a Palestinian woman to pour acid on Israeli soldiers, echoing an attack that took place at the checkpoint two weeks ago. There are mixed reports as to whether any soldiers were injured in the attempt, with some eyewitnesses claiming that most of the unknown substance was thrown on the ground, some inadvertantly splashing a nearby Palestinian man.


Photo by Nasser Shtayah

The young woman reportedly ran into the crowd, who were passing through the checkpoint, and was chased by Israeli soldiers. Soldiers then opened fire on the crowd of innocent civilians, using live ammunition. Four people were reportedly injured by the gunfire, with two requiring hospitalisation.


Photo by Nasser Shtayah

One, Iyad Amer, a nurse in Nablus, is currently being treated in the Arab Special Hospital in Nablus for gunshot wounds to his foot and shoulder. Another, Mahmoud Fateh Daroushi, 18 years old, from Arwata, was passing through the checkpoint on his way to university when the woman ran past him. He was then hit in the lower back with shrapnel, as a bullet ricocheted off a nearby rock. He reports that the soldiers were firing directly into the crowd – at the ground and at waist-height, from just 4-5 metres away.

One woman was arrested – Saabil Break, an English student at An Najar university in Nablus. It is unknown at this time as to whether she is the same woman who escaped detention after the acid attack two weeks ago.

Huwarra checkpoint is one of the busiest in the West Bank, with thousands of Palestinians passing through each day. It is especially crowded in the early morning, as workers and students pour in to the city from around the region.

Israeli military spokespeople are claiming that these attacks are the result of supposed leniency being exercised by Israeli soldiers at checkpoints during the month of Ramadan. During this month, however, human rights organisations have documented beatings; regular use of arbitrary detention; and extreme and unnecessary delays resulting in queues lasting many hours. Also in this month, Naheel Abu Rideh was denied entry to Nablus through Huwarra checkpoint for many hours whilst in labour, resulting in a stillbirth of her second child.

ISM Rafah: Israeli navy use live ammunition and water cannon against Gazan fishermen

Gaza, 20th September 2008 – Members of ISM in the Gaza Strip accompanied Palestinian fishermen from the port of Gaza.

When they were approximately four nautical miles offshore the fishing vessel was approached by an Israeli gunboat which proceeded to circle it continuously for a while. Shortly after the gunboat withdrew, a larger naval vessel approached from the north-east and began to spray the fishing boat with high-pressure water from a cannon mounted on its bow.

Fortunately no-one was injured during the attack and no damage was done to the boat, largely because the fishermen had taken measures to protect it such as boarding-up the windows. The same boat suffered a similar assault again later in the day.

A second fishing vessel in the vicinity was observed also being attacked by water cannon. In the afternoon an Israeli gunboat closed in on the fishing boat carrying ISM members and fired live ammunition in very close proximity to the boat.

Ynet: UK groups urge government not to rent premises from Leviev

Pro-Palestinian organizations furious over British Embassy’s plan to lease three floors in Tel Aviv skyscraper from company ‘involved in settlement construction in West Bank’

To view original article, published by Ynet on the 21st September, click here

The British government’s plan to rent new premises in a Tel Aviv skyscraper has sparked a wave of protests that their prospective landlord is a major participant in Jewish settlement-building in the West Bank, the London-based The Independent reported Saturday.

The British Embassy has been in negotiations to lease three floors in Kirya Tower from Africa Israel Investments, a company controlled by property and diamonds billionaire Lev Leviev.

According to the report, Pro-Palestinian organizations are urging the British Foreign Office to cancel the plans, arguing that one of the company’s subsidiaries is prominent in settlement building and that Leviev is a big contributor to the Land Redemption fund, which acquires Palestinian land for Jewish settlements.

Daniel Machover of the UK-based Lawyers for Palestinian Human Rights organization said in a letter to The Independent that renting space from Leviev is “tantamount to HM Government condoning Israel’s settlement building, supporting clear violations of international law, which in some cases (amounts) to grave breaches of the Fourth Geneva Convention, and hindering the possibility of peace in the Middle East”.

According to The Independent, most Western governments – including Britain’s – regard settlements as illegal under international law.

Machover pointed out that British Prime Minister Gordon Brown strongly criticized continued settlement expansion on his visit to the Middle East this year.

Danya Cebus, a construction subsidiary of Africa Israel, has been accused by human rights activists of building homes in a number of West Bank settlements including the ultra-Orthodox settlement Modiin Illit, close to the Palestinian village of Bilin, the report said.

Several months ago, the UN children’s fund UNICEF decided to to review its relationship with Leviev after a campaign by Adalah-NY and found “at least a reasonable grounds for suspecting” that the billionaire’s companies were building settlements in occupied territory.

“I can confirm that UNICEF has advised Adalah in New York that it will not be entering into any partnerships or accepting financial contributions from Lev Leviev or his corporate people,” Chris de Bono, a senior adviser to the executive director of UNICEF, told Reuters at the time.

“We are aware of the controversy surrounding Mr. Leviev because of his reported involvement in construction work in the occupied Palestinian territory,” de Bono said, adding that it was UNICEF’s policy to have partners who were “as non-controversial as possible.”

ISM Rafah: Report from fishing action in Gaza

Report by Donna Wallach – ISM and Free Gaza Movement volunteer reporting on fishing boat actions from Gaza City, Gaza Strip, Palestine.

Gaza City, Gaza Strip, Palestine,19th September, 2008. On the morning of Friday 19th September and the 19th day of Ramadan, about 5 Palestinian fishing boats left Gaza City port for another day of trawling off the coast of Gaza Strip. It was a very clear day and I could easily see the coast the entire day.

When the boat I was on reached 7 miles out, an Israeli Naval gunboat speedily approached and fired at the fishing boat. One of the soldiers called for the captain of the boat and yelled at him to stop the boat. Continuing in a derogatory tone of voice, the Israeli soldier told the captain to only sail up and down the coast and not to go further out into the sea. The captain told the soldier that he needed to go out 10 miles to trawl for fish. I also spoke to the gunboat and reiterated that the fishermen needed to go out ten miles. This time the gunboat did not continue to fire upon this boat. I think in the end we only went out to eight miles. For the remainder of the day we were able to trawl for fish in relative peace.

However, just after the sun went going down, after the meal for breaking the fast for the day, an Israeli Naval gunboat fired upon another Palestinian fishing boat and we heard over the VHF radio an international tell the Israeli Navy “We are Palestinian fishermen, fishing in Palestinian waters. Stop shooting!”

In the evening, the captain of the boat told me that it costs him $1,000 a day of diesel fuel to power his fishing boat. Considering that the catch for the day was small, as it often is for the Palestinian fishermen up and down the coast, it is hard to understand how they succeed to make a living. In addition to the exceptionally high cost of fuel, there are either no spare parts for broken, damaged, or lost equipment, or the cost of the spare parts are ten times the normal cost – the Israeli siege continues to impact every aspect of Palestinian life. The siege must end, now!