Tag: Fishermen - Page 9 - International Solidarity Movement

Israel’s definition of a ceasefire

14 January 2013 | Beit Lahiya, Gaza Strip, Occupied Palestine

Just three days after the fatal shooting of Anwar Al-Malouk near Jabalia, the Israeli military has murdered another Palestinian civilian despite a supposed ceasefire being in place. Mustafa Abu Jarad, 20, was one of a group of bird hunters working on a plot of land in an area north of Beit Lahiya in the very north of the Gaza Strip, over a kilometre away from the border fence.

From the border, the Israeli army began firing heavily in their direction and immediately targeted Mustafa directly in the forehead. The group had thrown themselves onto the ground and when the situation calmed enough for them to move they realised that Mustafa had been hit.

The bullet went straight through Mustafa’s head leaving a massive exit wound. He was rushed to Kamal Adwan Hospital in the north of the Gaza Strip but was quickly transferred to Al Shifa, Gaza’s main hospital, due to the severity of his injuries. He arrived in a critical condition and underwent emergency surgery to remove bone fragments from the remaining part of his brain and to relieve internal bleeding. Unfortunately, he had sustained a massive brain trauma and his prognonis was bleak. He died in the ICU a few hours after the operation as his family anxiously waited for news.

Mustafa’s older brother, Loay, was killed two and a half months ago whilst active with the Palestinian resistance. Mustafa had no involvement with the resistance himself. He was trying to earn a little extra income for his family whilst he completed his studies. The latest attacks increase the number of Palestinian casualties since the ceasefire announcement to more than 80, according to officials in Gaza.

To further flout the ceasefire agreement, several Israeli military vehicles were reported to have breached the border with Gaza this morning in an agricultural area east of Khan Younis in the south of the Gaza Strip, according to Ma’an News Agency. After continual violations of the November ceasefire, committed by the Israeli military against Palestinian civilians, the question remains:

When will the international community take notice – and furthermore take action – to prevent an escalation of bloodshed?

Note: This is extended information on a related article published recently.

Gaza fishermen after the ceasefire [includes a video]

6 December 2012 | Johnny Barber

On Wednesday 5th December, Gaza fishermen staged a peaceful protest in the port of Gaza City, in order to highlight the Israeli attacks on their livelihoods. They were supported by the local Fishing Union, the Union of Agricultural Work Committees and the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights.

Gaza fishermen constantly face Israeli military aggression in Gazan territorial waters – just as farmers attempting to work their land in the buffer zone have been facing on a regular basis since Israel’s massive assault on Gaza in late November. Both cases constitute a violation of the fragile ceasefire.

Demonstration in solidarity with Gaza fishermen on Wednesday, 5 December 2012 at Gaza port

4 December 2012 | Palestinian Centre for Human Rights

A demonstration in solidarity with Gaza Fishermen is planned for Wednesday, 5 December 2012, to be held at Gaza Port at 10am.

In the period between Wednesday, 28 November, and Saturday, 1 December, at least 29 fishermen have been arrested, at least 9 fishing boats have been impounded (including a larger trawling vessel), and one boat has been destroyed. The fishermen’s reports are generally the same: they are fishing within the new 6 mile limit (or even within the former 3 mile limit) when Israeli gunboats approach and start firing at them, often aiming at the motor. They order fishermen to strip down to their undergarments, jump into the water, and swim towards the gunboat, where they are handcuffed and blindfolded, and sometimes beaten. Some are taken to Ashdod or Erez and interrogated. Most are released the same day, although Amar Bakr is still being held at Ashdod. Most of the confiscated boats have belonged to the Bakr family, while the Hessi family has also been attacked.

An announcement was issued by the Hamas government stating that the maritime boundaries had been extended from three to six nautical miles under the terms of the recent ceasefire. International standards set the limit at 12 miles, while the Oslo Accords granted Gaza fishermen 20 miles in 1995. However, this limit was reduced to three miles in January 2009 after the attacks of Operation Cast Lead.

In late January 2009, when fishermen returned to the sea after Operation Cast Lead, they were viciously attacked. Boats were completely destroyed, and many fishermen were shot, with serious injuries. Some were even shot in the back as they attempted to return to the shore. Now, nearly four years later, immediately following a ceasefire, Gaza fishermen are once again under attack. The Israeli violations of the ceasefire agreement should not go unnoticed. Violations have occurred nearly every day since the agreement was brokered, with Israeli forces attacking fishermen at sea and farmers at work in the buffer zones. The question is now: who is holding Israel accountable?

More information can be found at the Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR). www.pchrgaza.org.

Khadr Bakr, a Gaza fisherman, in front of the Gaza port

Firshermen Sabry Mahmoud Bakr and Jamal Bakr in front of the Gaza port

In new violation of ceasefire agreement, Israeli forces arrest 14 fishermen and confiscate 3 fishing boats: number of arrested fishermen increases to 29 and confiscated boats to 9

2nd December 2012 | Palestinian Centre for Human Rights

The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) repeats its condemnation of Israel’s violations against Palestinian fishermen in the Gaza Strip. PCHR is concerned over the escalation of Israeli attacks directed against fishermen since the Israeli offensive on the Gaza Strip that was stopped following the cease-fire agreement reached between Palestinian resistance groups and the Israeli occupation forces, under Egyptian and international auspices. Attacks against fishermen escalated despite the Israeli authorities’ announcement of allowing the fishermen to fish up to 6 nautical miles off the Gaza shore in the context of the cease-fire.[1] Since the cease-fire agreement came about, Israeli occupation forces have arrested 29 fishermen, including 14 who were arrested on Saturday, 01 December 2012. Additionally, 9 fishing boats were confiscated and damaged, including 3 boats that were confiscated on Saturday.

On Saturday morning, 01 December 2012, the Israeli naval forces opened fire at Palestinian fishermen and boats in Gaza’s waters while they were fishing about 3 nautical miles off the Gaza shore. As a result, an engine of a fishing boat was damaged. The Israeli naval forces chased 3 boats and arrested 14 fishermen who were on board of the boats.

In his testimony to a PCHR fieldworker, one of the fishermen, Ramez Izzat Baker, 41, from Gaza City, said:

“At 06:30 on Saturday, 01 December 2012, I went fishing with my brother Rami, 34, and 3 of my cousins: Bayan Khamis Baker, 17; Mohammed Khaled Baker, 17; and Omar Mohammed Baker, 22, off the Gaza shore. We started fishing about 3 nautical miles off the shore. At 10:00, an Israeli gunboat approached and chased us ordering us to stop. The Israeli forces started firing heavily at us. Therefore, we stopped fishing for fear of being harmed or our boats getting damaged. They ordered us to take our clothes off, jump into the water and swim towards the gunboat. We did what they ordered us to do. The Israeli forces arrested us (my brother, three cousins and me) and transported us to Ashdod seaport, where we were questioned. At 21:00, we were released, while our boats remained in custody.”

In another incident, an Israeli gunboat attacked 2 fishing boats belonging to Sabri Mohammed Baker, 52, and Eid Mohsen Baker, 23, who are both fishermen and live in Gaza City. The 2 men were fishing approximately 2 nautical miles[2] off the shore when Israeli naval forces opened fire at the boats, damaging the boat that belongs to Eid Baker. The Israeli naval forces ordered the 9 fishermen who were on board of the 2 boats to stop fishing and then arrested them. They took them to Ashdod seaport and interrogated them. The naval forces kept the two boats. At approximately 21:00, 8 fishermen were released while Emad Mohammed Baker, 33, from Gaza remained in custody.

In light of the above, PCHR:

1. Condemns the continued Israeli violations against Palestinian fishermen in the Gaza sea, and calls upon Israel to immediately stop its policy of chasing and arresting Palestinian fishermen, and to allow them to sail and fish freely;

2. Believes that the violations committed against the Palestinian fishermen within the 6 nautical miles limit proves false the Israeli claims of permitting the fishermen to fish freely up to 6 nautical miles from the shore;

3. Calls upon the international community, including the High Contracting Parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949 on the protection of civilians in times of war, to intervene to immediately stop the Israeli violations against the Palestinian fishermen, and to allow them to sail and fish freely in the Gaza sea.

Ceasefire re-awakens dreams of Gaza fishermen

27 November 2012 | International Solidarity Movement, Gaza Strip

Fishermen in Gaza are able to fish six miles from the shore for the first time since 2006 after the ceasefire between Israel and Gaza. Fishermen hope the fishing industry will recover after its almost complete destruction by the siege but say that 6 miles is not deep enough.

Abu Alaa El Amoudi, (A fisherman in the Gaza strip): “Since October 2000 when the Second Intifada began until now the Israeli military do not allow us to enter the sea 3 miles past Gaza beach. Our work was at 3% of our usual capacity and even that was very dangerous. Thank god, the situation now is better than before the war, now we can move to 6 miles but if we go deeper the Israeli military shoots at us. We wish as fishermen in Gaza Strip to work freely.”

Raed Abu Odai (A fisherman in the Gaza strip) : ‘’Six miles is a big improvement but there are still not enough fish. To catch more fish we need to go deeper. Yesterday I went in seven miles and was shot at by the occupation’s navy with live ammunition and a water cannon but thank god no one was hurt.’’

The Israeli forces illegally reduced the area of fishing gradually from 20 nautical miles, which was established under the Oslo Accords, to 10 nautical miles in 2005. In June 2006, IOF imposed a total siege for months, and opened it later permitting fishermen to fish within a 6-nautical-mile limit, which was then reduced to 3 nautical miles in 2007. Israeli forces continue to attack Palestinian fishermen even within the 3 nautical miles since 2009. Fishermen are subjected to shootings, resulting in deaths and injuries, they are often chased, arrested, unnecessarily inspected, humiliated, and their boats and fishing equipment are confiscated, and sometimes drowned or destroyed by the Israeli military

For more information see:
http://fishingunderfire.blogspot.gr