Tag: Gaza Siege - Page 16 - International Solidarity Movement

Photos: A visit to the Gaza fish auction

10th December 2013 | International Solidarity Movement, Charlie Andreasson | Gaza, Occupied Palestine

Gaza’s fish action brought back memories from both my time as a fisherman and my work in the port of Gothenburg. There was the same crowding around the neat rows of boxes, filled with different types of fish and shellfish, the auctioneer’s pad and pen, the attention, the exclamations.

In my hometown, I never ceased to be fascinated by the almost invisible signs from the sellers: a quickly raised eyebrow, a wink, barely discernible nod, a blow with a pencil against a block. Here the signals were clearer, but the concern that I would accidentally give a sign that could be seen as an acceptance of the auctioneer’s bid was still within me.

But there was also another difference, a more substantial one: the amount of fish. In Gothenburg, there were double rows, five to six boxes high, arranged in line after line. The group of men, for they were all men, moved along them as they were sold. The boat that unloaded its cargo first also sold it first, which usually generated the best price. It was always a race against the clock to come into the harbor and unload as quickly as possible.

Here in Gaza, the rows were fewer, and no box was set on another. And I suppose that instead of a race against time to unload first, there was pressure to get into the harbor before the Israeli navy attacked. For it is precisely because of Israeli violence that the catches are so small.

The number of registered fishing boats in Gaza today is only 433. The largest of them is around twenty meters. Far from all that are seaworthy. Likewise, the number of registered fishermen has fallen from about 5,000 during the 1980s to fewer than 3,000 today, according to the UN. In 2000, the fishing industry was valued at $10 million, but today it is only a shadow.

That was clear to me where I stood and watched the auction over the few boxes of fish that were up for bidding. In 2009, the total catch was 1,526 tons, down 42% since 2000. And as the shallow waters are increasingly overfished, the catch will continue its steep decline. The fish are in deeper water, still in Palestinian waters, but where the fishermen are not allowed. Where they are attacked, have their gear destroyed and boats seized by the Israeli military.

According to the Oslo Accords, fishermen can use their water up to 20 nautical miles from the coast, but the occupying power has limited this right to only six miles. Even within this limit, which has no basis in international law, attacks against fishermen are common. The situation is serious for the 35,000 people who still directly depend on the fishing industry, not to mention the overall economy.

And that is perhaps why this collective punishment, a violation of the fourth Geneva Convention, continues. It hurts the Palestinian economy, making Palestinians totally dependent on foreign aid, in order to make it impossible for a viable Palestinian state to become a reality. And as long as this inhumane policy continues, enforced through military aggression and without strong international condemnation, there will be fewer and fewer boxes of fish for the auctioneer to announce.

Photos: Palestinian fishermen and activists sail to protest Israel’s siege of Gaza

4th December 2013 | International Solidarity Movement, Charlie Andreasson | Gaza, Occupied Palestine

On Monday, 2nd December 2013, 200-250 Palestinians, foreign activists and journalists, many from international media, gathered in the Gaza seaport for a joint action to alert the world about the siege and its consequences for fishermen pursuing their profession. The action resulted from long negotiations between the event’s initiators, the Intifada Youth Coalition, and the General Union of Fishermen. The stumbling block has been whether the siege would be broken or not. It was a negotiation from which the fishermen emerged victorious. The illegal and inhumane siege would be highlighted but not broken. The risk was imminent that they would be attacked and have their boats confiscated.

One by one, the boats sailed out of the harbor, waited for each other, then went out together at a speed of three to four knots. In total, there were seven large boats ,with a maximum length of 20 meters, and eleven smaller, open ones. The atmosphere on board was good. Flags waved, people sang, and no sign of tension or nervousness appeared. Maybe it was a taste of freedom participants felt, an early celebration of once again being able to sail and fish in their own waters without fear of being attacked by another nation’s military power, to regain an area that far exceeds all the occupied occupied land in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem.

What I saw on board was joy and anticipation. A single F-16 that flew over us attracted no interest, but a small school of dolphins did. The only ones who seemed worried was the TV crew that had plastic bags over their equipment. And the fishermen. Those who have real reason to worry, those who have the greatest reason to remind the world about the crimes they face, who by their own admission have been called by the Israeli intelligence service, the Mossad, which warned them against participating in the campaign.

We stopped after sailing two nautical miles from the coast of Gaza, and the crew turned the boat, preparing to sail back as soon as the journalists got their pictures. But it was also then that the Intifada Youth Coalition began to press to get closer to Israel’s unilaterally-imposed fishing limit of six nautical miles. Even the journalists wanted pictures other than flags waving or dolphins jumping. And this was also a chance for the fishermen to show the world the risks they face daily.

The voyage to the next stop, at the four-nautical-mile line, was characterized by increased attention. The limit lay against the horizon, and two vessels that could be seen were assumed to be Israeli gunboats. They did not appear to move, just lie and wait. And on board the voices rose more loudly from those who wanted to continue nearer the limit, maybe even try to break it, and those who risked everything.

But at four and a half mile the intellect won, and we turned back towards the harbor. The television teams did not get the pictures they might have hoped for, and tomorrow they would point their cameras in another direction. But what will happen when the fishermen no longer have the media on board and when no international activists are present? We did not have to wait long for the answer.

Barely three hours later came the first attack on a fishing boat, followed after less than an hour after by the next. We can only speculate about whether they came as retaliation for today’s action. But we know that assaults on fishermen continue, and will continue until the world seriously pressures Israel to cease its military attacks against a civilian population.

The water in Gaza is not only water

22nd November 2013 | International Solidarity Movement, Charlie Andreasson | Gaza, Occupied Palestine

I was just going to make dinner when I realized the filtered water in my tank was almost done. Perhaps it would be enough if I used the last of my bottled water. But then I would have nothing to drink with my meal. And there would be no coffee, not after the food and not for breakfast. Glances at the tap, I considered diluting the filtered water with tapwater, in order to save time and to avoid having to walk two blocks to fill the tank. It was dark outside, and the shop with water might be closed.

Tapwater cannot be used for cooking, or should not be used for cooking. I avoid doing it anyway. I wash dishes in it, but do not use it to cook my rice. It’s salt. Saltwater penetrates the underground aquifier, which it is larger than the natural supply of fresh water can fill. But the seawater is not its only contaminant. According to the United Nation, chemicals and sewage also pollute it, which is not surprising when 90,000 cubic meters of untreated sewage gush out every day. Sewage, from the toilets, back in the taps. With water treatment plants, that works. But in Gaza, the problem is that there is not enough diesel to run the generators around the clock. And for those Israel has bombed, well, it also stops the import of replacement parts. Meanwhile seawater, chemicals and sewage increase in the water supply. By 2016, UN expects the water to become completely unusable. Only three years are left until then. And at 2020, no one they say, no one will be able to live here.

I open the fridge, hoping to find something that does not require water for cooking. I close it again. Maybe the store is open, but the cistern outside it is empty. It’s not just me who needs water. And some families have to spend as much as a third of their income on it. They must use the contaminated tapwater far more than I do. When I first came here, I used tapwater to brush my teeth. That was a mistake I will not repeat. But I rinse the toothbrush in it afterwards, shaking it carefully. I think that’s okay. A Swiss woman visiting Gaza asked if I drank the filtered water. It should be drinkable, but someone told me it is only filtered from salt. I do not want to find out how things are, do not want to know. I buy the more expensive bottled water. But I wash my clothes in water from the plumbing system, like everyone else here is forced to do. I wash my hands in it, my face. I take my showers in it, washing off my salty sweat with contaminated water, polluted not only by salt, like everyone else here must.

It becomes more polluted every year. The farmers have problems with it. It’s too salty for citrus seeds to germinate, and causes harvests to decline for the products that still grow. Tanker trucks drive to those who can afford to pay. Israel says it’s concerned, has plans to pull in a pipeline and talks about desalination plants, the same plants it keeps from entering. And I think about what will happen when the disaster strikes, when no one can live here, when everyone is forced to flee: a new Nakba, caused not by the force of arms but by the siege. Where can they go? Who is prepared to receive them? And what will happen then? Will Israel then will take over the empty land, this terra nullius, pumping in water, getting the desert to bloom? I hear it as an echo.

Sewage flows in Gaza streets for 18 hours a day

21st November 2013 | International Solidarity Movement, Rosa Schiano | Gaza, Occupied Palestine

The lack of electricity in the Gaza Strip is also creating an environmental crisis. Wastewater treatment facilities have stopped due to the lack of fuel. In the Zeitoun neighborhood, in the east of Gaza City, a sewage pumping station has stopped working due to the lack of electricity. The wastewater flooded the streets and houses in the neighborhood.

In the few hours when electricity is on, the water is again partially collected from the plant, leaving mud and putrid slime on which children walk to reach their homes. In some cases, inhabitants have built small bridges. In others, where this is not possible, people have to look for alternate routes through the neighborhood. When the system stops, sewage again starts to submerge the streets.

At the entrance one building, residents had placed wooden boards to walk on until they reach the stairs. The building was partially evacuated, with only a few families remaining.

“We have lived here a month, and we would like to leave,” Nadia, a young mother, said shortly before the electricity cut. “We haven’t gone out for a week. My kids are sick. I needed to take them to the hospital to see what they had. The doctor told me they contracted an infection due to the dirty water. They had high fevers. Their temperature was over 40 degrees.” Nadia has three daughters and one son. During the night, they can’t sleep because of the stench of sewage. There are also insects and rats.

The waste water also flooded a farmland on which many olive trees are planted. If the emergency is not solved, the land will be irreversibly contaminated. The pumping station, which is used to transfer wastewater from the center to the south of Gaza City, was flooded.

Much of the fuel arrived in Gaza through the underground tunnels connecting the Gaza Strip to Egypt, now almost totally destroyed by the Egyptian army. Israeli fuel, which is twice as much, costs too much for most in Gaza to afford.

The Energy Authority in Gaza had started to buy fuel from Israel through the Energy Authority in Ramallah, which exempted fuel purchases from taxes. But Ramallah Authority demanded the Gaza Authority pay taxes on the fuel due to the Palestinian Authority’s current financial crisis. The Energy Authority in Gaza, which cannot pay the costs, refused.

The only power plant in the Gaza Strip can work for limited periods. In coming days, the supply of electricity is expected to be further reduced from six to four hours per day. “A disaster, a catastrophe,” children in the Zeitoun neighborhood repeated. Employees of the municipality worked with boots and gloves. Other wasterwater treatment facilities may stop if their generators also run out of fuel.

The humanitarian conditions in the Gaza Strip are deteriorating. The energy crisis affects all the daily needs of the population. Israel has kept the Gaza Strip under siege for over seven years, imposing restrictions on exports (almost zero) and imports of goods, fuel, building materials and other necessities, thus creating increases in unemployment, poverty and aid dependency.

Israeli forces capture two Palestinian fishermen and seize their boat off Gaza

21st November 2013 | International Solidarity Movement, Rosa Schiano | Gaza, Occupied Palestine

Ammar Asad al-Sultan (left) and Mohsen Zayed. (Photo by Rosa Schiano)

On Sunday, 17th November 2013, two Palestinian fishermen were captured by Israeli naval forces, who also confiscated their boat, in Gaza waters.

Ammar Asad al-Sultan, age 19, and Mohsen Zayed, age 25, were on a small fishing boat, or hasaka, without an engine, about one mile off the coast of Soudanya in the northern Gaza Strip.

Israeli forces released them about 3:00 am the following day.

Ammar Asad al-Sultan lives in an area called Salatin, in the north of the Gaza Strip.

“We went fishing at 5:00 pm,” he said there Tuesday. “Around 6.30 pm, an Israeli gunboat approached our boat and the Israeli soldiers opened fire into the water. We tried to quickly pull our nets in order to escape, but we could not.”

Without a motor, the two fishermen could not escape. “I’m 25, and I have never experienced something so terrifying in my life,” Moshen said. “I was afraid of losing my life.”

The Israeli soldiers forced the two fishermen to undress and jump into the water. “It was very cold,” Ammar said. “It was freezing. They told us to jump into the water and swim 30 meters towards the Israeli gunboat.”

On board, the Israeli soldiers brought the fishermen to the bow of the boat, cuffed their hands and feet, and covered their heads. A soldier asked them their names. The gunboat didn’t go directly to Ashdod, but moved south before doubling back and and reaching the Israeli port of Ashdod.

“In Ashdod, two soldiers took us to a small room,” Mohsen said. “They removed the handcuffs. Then, a military doctor checked our health, blood pressure and temperature. Then we were kept handcuffed again for about 30 minutes in a room, before they separated us and we were questioned individually. They removed the handcuffs and the hood from my head, and asked me about my family, my work, everything about my private life, how many children I had. Then an investigator asked me which political party I support. And he asked me how many brothers I have. ‘Eight,’ I replied. ‘You are a liar,’ he told me. ‘I’m not,’ I said. He insulted me and said, ‘You have nine brothers.’ I told him one of my brothers died when he was five years old, so I had not counted him.'”

After the interrogation, soldiers handcuffed the two fishermen, covered their heads and took them to another room. Ammar said soldier asked him to undress, then he checked his body with an explosive detector alarm able to detect weapons and even gunpowder. “The investigator, whose the name was Jamal, asked me why I was fishing in the forbidden area,” Ammar said. “Then he showed me a printed map and told me to mark my home. He asked me about my brothers and their work, and if I knew someone who works for Hamas. He said, ‘One of your brothers works for Hamas. We follow his steps every day.’ I told him that I don’t know anyone and my brother is not working for Hamas. The investigator told me, ‘I know everything happens in Gaza. We are watching at you. We could attach you, because your brother works with a terrorist organization.’ Then he told me to tell my brother to stay away from certain people because the whole family will be in danger if he is not be far away from them. The investigator repeated the same things 10 times. Then the soldiers handcuffed me.”

Two Palestinian fishermen paddle off the Gaza seaport. (Photo by Charlie Andreasson)

Israeli forces took the two fishermen to the Erez checkpoint before releasing them.

Their families depend on their fishing, they said. Without their boat, they don’t have any other means of subsistence.

Ammar’s father said this is the third time he lost his fishing nets. Israeli soldiers confiscated them, along with other boats. He went into debt to afford them.

“I call on the international community to allow us to live like people in the rest of the world outside Gaza,” he said. “I appeal the world to stop these crimes and help the fishermen of Gaza, especially the fishermen of the north of the Gaza Strip. Our children need clothes and shoes. Children do not know our problems. They do not understand why cannot have what they need. Now the winter is coming and I have no money to buy them new clothes.”

This is the second Israeli attack on Palestinian fishermen in only a week, as well as the second consecutive attack against fishermen on a boat without an engine one to two nautical miles off the northern coast of the Gaza Strip. Israeli forcesseem determined to prevent fishermen from accessing waters in the northern Gaza Strip. The actual limit imposed by Israel on waters north of Gaza is not six nautical miles, but one to two.

Background

Israel has progressively imposed restrictions on Palestinian fishermen’s access to the sea. The 20 nautical miles established under the Jericho agreements, between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) in 1994, were reduced to 12 miles in the Bertini Agreement of 2002. In 2006, the area Israel allowed for fishing was reduced to six nautical miles from the coast. After its military offensive “Operation Cast Lead” (December 2008 – January 2009) Israel imposed a limit of three nautical miles from the coast, preventing Palestinians from accessing 85% of the water to which they are entitled under the Jericho agreements of 1994.

Under the ceasefire agreement reached by Israel and the Palestinian resistance after the Israeli military offensive “Operation Pillar of Defense” (November 2012), Israel agreed that Palestinian fishermen could again sail six nautical miles from the coast. Despite these agreements, the Israeli navy has not stopped its attacks on fishermen, even within this limit. In March 2013, Israel once again imposed a limit of three nautical miles from the coast. On 22 May, Israeli military authorities announced a decision to extend the limit to six nautical miles again.