Tag: Gaza - Page 43 - International Solidarity Movement

Madleen Kolab, Gaza’s only fisherwoman

9th February 2014 | International Solidarity Movement, Charlie Andreasson | Gaza, Occupied Palestine

I have seen her standing there more then once, at the edge of the port, looking out over the boats in the harbor and then towards the horizon. And for a short second, I have seen myself, when as a child I took my bicycle down to the harbor just to stand at the pier and gaze, for a long, long time, at the boats that disappeared beyond the horizon, and wonder what was beyond that line. And I have briefly asked myself if she does the same. But she is not a child, she is a young, adult woman. A strong woman.

I asked a good friend to arrange a meeting with Madleen Kolab, 19 years old and Gaza’s only fisherwoman, for an interview. Later, she would reveal this was only to tell me face to face tell me that she does not give interviews. For almost two years, she has declined all requests from journalists because they, as she says, only writes for their careers. But she decided to make an exception when she recognized me and knew that I was involved in the rebuilding of Gaza’s Ark, and thus in work for Palestine. Her firm look told me that she was serious and I felt honored, but also a little embarrassed, and was grateful that I could lower my eyes towards my notepad.

When she was six years old, she already accompanied her father when he was fishing, and she knew early what her coming profession would be. She loves her work. It gives her a sense of freedom to be on the sea, and she was careful to point out that nobody forced her to become a fisherman. Her rapt answers to my questions, that she never needed any consideration, unwavering eyes and lack of hesitation left no doubt or room for me to think otherwise. I could not doubt her word when she said that the other fishermen respect her as an equal colleague. It was only after I stressed that women all over the world find it difficult to break into an extremely male-dominated industry like fishing that she confessed she too has been fighting for her rights, and has been treated with prejudice, but that has now changed.

Madleen is the eldest of four siblings. She fishes with the younger of her two brothers on a hasaka, a small open boat, with an outboard motor. Earlier she had a type of boat she needed to paddle. Now she has the opportunity to go to deeper water and get somewhat better catches. Besides, it is safer. But she has been attacked by Israeli patrol boats, and she says it has been common for bullets to whiz around the boat. Once she feared she would be arrested, but when the Israeli soldiers discovered there was a woman on board the boat, they ordered her to instead head back to the harbor, obviously unsure of how they would deal with the unfamiliar situation. Madleen knows that will not save her forever, and she avoids the edge of the group of boats that go out, preferring to fight over the catch with others than try to get a bigger share for herself in more open water. But she also knows that when the Israeli military has decided to take a particular boat, it will also be the one they separate from the others.

I asked her about the escalation of violence. In January, thirteen attacks on fishermen were carried out, one at the six nautical-mile limit and the others three or less than three nautical miles from the coast. She knows from experience that if it is allowed to go out six miles, the Israeli navy keeps them within five miles, and when they were officially allowed to go only three miles, it was in reality only two. But Madleen believes they now attack so close to land because it is a high season and Israel wants to make it difficult for Palestinian fishermen to support themselves. This view is consistent with those of fishermen I have talked to after they were temporarily arrested and had their boats and gear confiscated. And the Israeli military know they can continue their abuses, since the world is not protesting.

But what would she do if there was no blockade? Would she leave Gaza? Madleen did not hesitate. She would stay. Palestine is her home. But she would fish further out, away from the overfished and shallow waters. And she wish that global society could make Israel stop the illegal and inhumane blockade. Fishermen themselves cannot. And as Madleen rightly points out, they have the right to fish in their own water. Right now, everything is like a dark dream, she continues; the future seems bleak. Still she hopes that one day they will be free from the blockade. And to hope is the only thing they can do.

Her phone rang. Someone wondered where she was. Madleen had never meant to be away for any length of time, and she asked me if I had any more questions. I took a few photographs of her and thanked her for her time. Before she left, she offered her help to launch Gaza’s Ark back into water. But I think I will see her again, standing there at the edge of the port. And it strikes me that I never asked that question, what she thinks about when she gazes towards the horizon.

A long, bloody January in Gaza

5th January 2014 | International Solidarity Movement, Rosa Schiano | Gaza, Occupied Palestine

Civil Defense crews work to clear the rubble left by an Israeli airstrike on 31 January. (Photo by Rosa Schiano)

It was a bloody beginning of the new year for the Palestinians of Gaza who, in addition to suffer from more and more difficult socioeconomic conditions, continued to face Israeli military violence.

During the month of January, there have been many attacks in the areas along the separation barrier surrounding the Gaza Strip, several incursions of Israeli military vehicles into Palestinian territory, precision air strikes, and almost constant attacks by the Israeli navy against fishermen.

The “bloody Fridays,” attacks against the youths of the popular resistance

Recently popular resistance has grown in the Gaza Strip. Every Friday hundreds of young Palestinians gather near the al-Shuhada cemetery, east of Jabaliya, in the northern Gaza Strip. Sometimes they throw stones at Israeli soldiers and try to place Palestinian flags on the fence that separates the Gaza Strip from the land occupied by Israel in 1948. Israeli forces open fire indiscriminately at these unarmed young people, sometimes injuring or killing them. In January, two young Palestinians, included a child, were killed during the popular demonstrations. And at least 14 young Palestinians were wounded by gunfire in the course of these events. In the majority of cases, injuries to their lower limbs were reported.

On 2 January, Adnan Jamil Shehda Abu Khater, age 17, went to the al-Shuhada cemetery with some friends after school. The youths were about 500 meters from the fence. Israeli forces opened fire and Abu Khater was wounded by a bullet in the pelvic area. He died the following day.

Thaer Mohammed Rab’a. (Photo by Rosa Schiano)

On 3 January, in the same area, Israeli forces opened fire at a group of youths about 200 meters from the fence. Khaled Ibrahim Ouda, age 21, was injured by a bullet in the right leg. The same day, Thaer Mohammed Rab’a, age 25, was injured by a bullet in his left side while he was 300 meters from the fence. “They were competing in getting closer to the fence,” one of Thaer’s relatives said.

On 11 January, in the same area, the Israeli army opened fire at a group of youths who were close to the fence. Mahmoud Atef Mohammed Lubbad, age 22, was wounded by a bullet in the left leg. On January 24^th , the Israeli army opened fire at a group of youths who threw stones at the soldiers. Five young civilians were injured. Mo’aaz Munir Salman Ghabit, age 18), reported a moderate wound to his right thigh; Abdullah Mohammed ‘Abdullah ‘Awad, age 22, reported a moderate injury to his right hand and fracture; Salem Nafez Salem Abu Aser, age 21, reported a light injury to his right foot; Mohammed Naser Hasounah Abu Qamar, age 18, reported a light wound in the left arm; and Yehia Mahmoud Omer al-Jammal, age 20, reported a light wound to his back.

Belal Samir Ahmed ‘Aweidah, shortly before he was shot and killed by an Israeli military sniper. (Photo by Akram ‘Aweidah)

In the same day, a group of young Palestinians was gathering in an area north of Beit Lahia. They approached the border and throw some stones at the soldiers. Belal Samir Ahmed ‘Aweidah, age 19, from Beit Lahia, was killed instantly with a bullet to his chest. His mother described how her son was killed.

“We had lunch,” she said. “It was our last lunch. Then he dressed. I asked him: ‘Where are you going?’ ‘I will do a tour with some friends’, he said.”

Belal, along with other youths, was spending Friday afternoon taking photos near the fence and “looking at our occupied lands on the other side of the barrier,” his cousin Akram said. A sniper fired a bullet into his chest.

“I heard a bullet,” he said. “We ran away. Belal was running with me. He was running with the bullet in his chest. Then he told me, ‘Akram, Akram, I’m wounded,’ and fell on the ground.”

Akram showed us photos he had taken of Belal before he was killed.

On 31 January, the last Friday of the month, about six youths were injured close to the cemetery east of Jabalyia. Two of the wounded were hospitalized at Kamal Odwan hospital in Beit Lahia. Moaz Al Tlalqa, age 21, was wounded in the right thigh. The bullet caused a comminuted fracture.

“We want the end of the siege and we want to live like the other people in the rest of the world,” he said later. The second injured Palestinian, Mahmoud Muharram, age 24, had tried to reach the body of another wounded young man who was lying 20 meters from the fence. The soldiers told him to go away and to leave the body of the young man. Mahmoud refused. A soldier fired a bullet at his left leg.

“The soldiers took the Palestinian flag that we placed on the fence and stepped on it,” Mahoud said. Then he added: “This land was wet with blood more than water.”

In the courtyard of the hospital, several youths present Friday at the demonstration, included a young man injured the previous week, had gathered.

“Next Friday, I’m going to place the Palestinian flag over the fence,” one of them said.

“It’s dangerous,” an international activist said.

“Whatever is written in the sky, we will face it,” the young man replied.

Airstrikes and extrajudicial killings

In January, the Israeli air force carried out two attacks on agricultural and empty lands. Three attacks targeted Palestinian resistance sites. In one, a three-year-old child was injured by shards from the broken window of her house in Nuseirat. Two UNRWA schools and more than 20 houses were damaged in the same attack.

Extrajudicial assassination attempts are considered illegal under international law.

On 9 January, an Israeli warplane fired a missile at a motorcycle rickshaw, or “tuk-tuk,” driven by two members of the military resistance east of Khan Younis. The two men were wounded and windows of the adjacent houses were damaged. A three-year-old child, Heba Abdullah al-Ghalban, was injured by shards of glass.

On 19 January, an Israeli drone fired a missile at a motorcycle driven by an activist of the al-Quds Brigades, the armed wing of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad movement, in al-Saftawi street in the town of Jabaliya. The activist was seriously injured and a an eleven-year-old child was injured by shrapnel.

On 22 January, in another extrajudicial execution attempt, an Israeli drone fired a missile at a civilian car in Beit Hanoun, in the northern Gaza Strip. Both passengers, Ahmed Mohamed Khalil al-Za’anin, age 21, a member of the resistance, and his cousin Mohammed Yousif Ahmed al-Za’anin, age 22, were killed.

A Civil Defense truck sits outside the site of an Israeli airstrike on 31 January. (Photo by Rosa Schiano) — (Photo by Rosa Schiano)

On 31 January, at about 2:40 am, Israeli warplanes carried out airstrikes in Rafah Safena, north of Gaza City, and on a building near Sheikh Zayed, in the north of Gaza Strip. In the latter case, many animals bred in the bombed structure were killed. During the same period, Palestinian armed resistance groups have launched several rockets toward Israeli territory, and the Israeli Defense minister threatened a new military offensive if the Palestinian government in Gaza does not prevent the launch of rockets.

Aggression against fishermen

In January, the Israeli navy carried out at least 13 attacks against Palestinian fishermen during which fishermen were forced to leave their work. All the attacks occurred within three nautical miles, except for one within six nautical miles. Most of the attacks took place in waters off the northern part of the Gaza Strip.

Three fishermen were captured, included a child. During the detentions, the fishermen were interrogated, asked for their personal information and about places and people in Gaza. Their boats were confiscated.

Incursions

Israeli military vehicles carried out several incursions and “leveling” operations on Palestinian agricultural lands. In several cases the army opened fire at farmers and other civilians in Khan Younis and Beit Hanoun, forcing them to leave the area. In one incident, a civilian was wounded in Beit Hanoun 300 meters from the fence.

Gaza children with terminal illness spend their final years under the siege

3rd February 2014 | International Solidarity Movement, Charlie Andreasson | Gaza, Occupied Palestine

Epidermolysis bullosa is an exotic name for what is, in its most severe form, unusual, painful and fatal disease. It is caused by a deficiency of the protein that binds the two skin layers together, creating friction, blisters and open, slow-healing wounds. These blisters and erosions occur Even on internal mucous membranes. The wounds are similar to third degree burns, and children – victims of its most severe form will rarely be older than that – are also more prone to skin cancer. A cure does not exist.

In Daniela Riva’s apartment in Gaza City is a party, with cakes and cordiality. Some of the affected children are there, along with some siblings and their mothers. It is a merry atmosphere. They are playing, and there is some strife about whose turn it is to bowl with a Wii video game. One of the girls after a long, fascinated look at my red beard and blue eyes, borrows my notebook and draws a big heart. It takes her some time to fill it in.

They are unusually short, and have red sores on their faces. Their bodies have to put much effort into heal the wounds, as much as possible, and keeping the symptoms of the disease in check. Those at the party look six or seven years old. In fact, they are about ten years old. And they move stiffly, mainly as a consequence of all the bandages they wear – bandage that keep a special kind of layer in place to prevent their clothes from sticking in their wounds and allow them to live reasonably normal lives without the pain that any contact otherwise will cause – but their movements would be strained even without these bandages. Their stiff skin makes them turn their bodies simultaneously with their heads, and their fingers are becoming more and more hunched and rigid.

R – let us call her that – is the most active during the party. She is ten years with a catching smile, although it reveals her effected teeth and gums, and with a small hand, most similar to a human claw, she tries to get her hair in order.Her eyes reflect a curiosity. She is everywhere in the room and can’t sit still. But her breathing is strained, her voice is mostly a hiss and it’s hard for her to make herself heard. The disease also attacks her windpipe and throat. It is likely that her death will be caused by suffocation.

R know she will die. She knows she lives in constant proximity to death. That’s why she refuses to sleep with white sheets – it’s white sheets in which dead bodies are buried – and on a few occasions, when she had a cold and was barely able to breathe at all, asked to call a few friends to say goodbye. One of those she dialed was Daniela.

Daniela came to Gaza for the first time in 2008 to work in water and sanitation for an Italian NGO. She did not return to Italy until 2011. However, she did not spend all her time in Gaza, but traveled back and forth to Israel and the West Bank via the crossing at Erez. During the “Operation Cast Lead” military offensive, she was in Jerusalem. And it was when she returned after the war that she first saw a child, a boy about ten years old, with what appeared to be third degree burns.

She contacted Dr. Majdy Naim, at the al-Shifa hospital, who introduced her to other affected families. Together they advertised in newspapers and radio stations, and thus registered all in the Gaza Strip with the rare disease. Many of the parents had been unaware that there were more victims, but with Daniela’s help, they have now formed an association where they can get support and advice from each other, and through the association they seek assistance worldwide.

Her involvement with these children led her to stop working for the NGO that brought her to Gaza. Instead she got in touch with another, Debra Italy. They were so interested in what Daniela had to say that they made contact with a hospital in Rome, and in December 2012, she was back in Gaza with specialized surgeons who dilated the childrens’ esophaguses so they can eat normally, a procedure that needs to be done more than once during their lives. They also brought the special fabric that allows the children to live more functional lives, a product that cannot be found in the area.

The last time Daniela returned to Gaza, she brought a bag of this fabric. But it was not without difficulty. She was stopped by customs at the Cairo airport, where they requesteded a certificate from the Egyptian ministry of health allowing her to bring in medical materials. Without it, she had to pay ten percent of the value, which was $ 600, money she was promised to get back when she crossed the border to Gaza with the unopened bag. Of course she did not receive any money back in Rafah. But she got the material in, and it is needed. The bandages need to be changed every two to three days, a procedure that takes more than two hours, and between ten and fifteen layers are needed to cover the wounds, costing $75 to $125. The stock she brought will last 5-6 months. After that, the families can only hope that Daniela or someone else will enter with more.

R has one year left to live. Daniela has a dream to take her to Italy to let surgeons there assess if it is feasible to perform one last surgery in her throat, and to give her a nice final trip. I ask no more about it, suspecting that what she calls a dream is what most of us call a will, and I have seen what her will can achieve. Instead, I ask how come she is so self-sacrificing and continues year after year. She is now 36 years old, an age when most people are focused on their families and careers. It was a coincidence that made her start to work with children who have this disease, and as she explains, it just feels right to do it. She does not need any more reason than that.

In Gaza, remembering the sick Palestinian political prisoners in Israeli jails

2nd February 2014 | Resistenza Quotidiana, Sil | Gaza, Occupied Palestine

At this week’s Gaza sit-in in solidarity with political prisoners in Israeli jails, the focus was on the sick prisoners. The Palestinian political prisoners in need of medical care number about 1,000, and the lives of many are in danger because they are often denied necessary medical care.

“My son’s name is Ibrahim Al Goshen,” a woman said in the International Committee of the Red Cross courtyard. “Since after the hunger strike in October 2011, he has had pain in the legs and shoulders. He has an enlarged thyroid and high blood pressure, and sometimes falls into a coma for hours.”

“A year ago he had some tests, but they have not yet yielded the results,” she continued. “The only medicines they give him are painkillers and analgesics, paracetamol, and aspirin.”

“Ibrahim has been in prison for four years, and must serve another two and a half. He is 37 years old and has three children. We were able to visit him only three times, and only after the exchange with the soldier Shalit. We do not know which disease he has, but are sure he does not receive adequate care.”

Ibrahim is not the only one in his situation. Many witnesses report that too often the “cures” patients receive are limited to paracetamol and painkillers, which will not affect the causes of the disease. There are cases of untreated leukemia, prisoners suffering from cancer who are not receiving chemotherapy, persons who have contracted serious diseases like hepatitis due to poor hygienic conditions in prisons.

Other sick prisoners have died because of lack of medical care. Abu Hamdiyeh, for example, died in March 2013. In August 2012 had a very painful sore throat, which was treated only with painkillers. When he was finally taken to the Soroka hospital, his throat cancer had already spread to his spine. Hasan Turabi, arrested when he already had leukemia, stated he did not receive adequate medical care. He went to the clinic because he vomited blood, for which he received painkillers. Hasan was discharged on his deathbed. He died at age 22 on 5th November 2013.

Islam Abdo, media coordinator of the ministry of detainees in Gaza, cited the case of Yosri al-Masri, 31 years old, who was arrested ten years ago and sentenced to 20 years.

“This morning we went to visit his family,” Abdo said. “Yosri has thyroid cancer that has already reached the lymph nodes. A month and a half ago, they removed the thyroid gland, but did not give him the medicines to replace the hormones it produces, only painkillers. He should have chemotherapy, he should receive care that does not receive, so as a kind of protest he refused to take paracetamol and painkillers that were administered in place of the medicine he needed.”

“While I was in the intensive care unit, after the operation, my hands and feet had been cuffed to the hospital bed,” Yosri said in November. “I was guarded by 3 jailers, and whenever I wanted to go to the bathroom or to take shower they had to take the permission from Nafha intelligence officer.”

Motassem Radad suffers from acute intestinal inflammation that causes bleeding and severe pain. His condition deteriorated after a cortisone injection, which caused difficulty in the movement of his hands and legs. Thaer Halahla has contracted hepatitis C in Ashkelon prison, following a dental operation. He was transferred to a medical clinic in December. Thaer was held under administrative detention. After 77 days of a hunger strike, which contributed to the deterioration of his health condition, he was released on 5th June, 2012 and re-arrested 10th April, 2013. The list could go on, but would become repetitive. These are only examples.

1,000 patients are waiting for medical treatment in the Zionist jails. 25 prisoners suffer from cancer. 207 detainees have died since 1967, including 54 from medical negligence. Under international law, no Palestinian should be arrested and imprisoned by the occupying power in territories occupied in1948 In the Zionist jails, prisoners are routinely subjected to torture, forbidden family visits, held under administrative detention, without charge or trial.

Ibrahim al-Bitar, age 33, was arrested in 2003 while traveling through the Rafah crossing back from Egypt, where he had gone to receive medical treatment for an eye, and sentenced to 18 years in prison. Islam, at the ministry of detainees, said that his interrogation and torture have worsened his medical situation, and now has problems with his stomach and intestines. Rami, who was released a month ago after being held in Israeli prisons since before the Oslo agreements, said that Ibrahim is a friend of his. Part of Ibrahim’s intestine was removed, but his health is still precarious because he has not received the necessary treatment since the operation.

“The last time I saw him he was very ill, but had not yet lost his strength and hope,” Rami said. “He asked me to talk about his case and the other sick prisoners. He asked me to create pressure for them to receive the treatment they need. When he can, he calls me on the phone from jail to remind me to do so.”

Two Palestinian fishermen, including child, kidnapped by Israeli forces off Gaza

27th January 2014 | International Solidarity Movement, Rosa Schiano | Gaza, Occupied Palestine

On Monday, 20^th January, at about 6:00 am, Yousef Amin Abo Warda (age 18) and his cousin Ahmad Kamal Abo Warda (age 16) left their house to go fishing in a small boat without an engine.

Around 7:30 am they were fishing in front of the al-Waha area, in the northern Gaza Strip, and sank their fishing nets about three kilometers, or 1.6 nautical miles, offshore.

The arrest

Yousef said two large Israeli gunboats approached the fishing boats. While other fishermen were able to escape, for Yousef and Ahmad it was impossible, as their boat had no engine and was made heavy seawater seeping through a hole.

“Soldiers from one of the gunboats began shooting into the water, while the second gunboat quickly turned around us to create waves,” Yousef said.

The soldiers, as they usually do when they want to arrest fishermen, asked the two young Palestinians to undress, dive into the water and swim to the Israeli ship.

“I tried to get closer to their ship by swimming, but the ship moved away, so it became hard for me,” Yousef said. “I cried that I was tired moving my arms. I could no longer swim. The ship stopped. I went directly to the ladder that they putdown and I climbed on board the ship.”

“They made me kneel down and handcuffed my hands behind my back,” Yousef added. “They gave me some clothes and helped me put them on. They yelled to my cousin Ahmad to swim toward the ship. After about half hour Ahmad was sitting behind me. Our hands and feet were tied.” Moreover, the soldiers kicked the two fishermen on their back.

The arrival at the port of Ashdod

After about half an hour the ship reached the Israeli port of Ashdod. The soldiers removed the bandages from the fishermen’s eyes, as well as their cuffs, to allow them to get off the ship. On shore, the fishermen were again handcuffed and blindfolded. They were asked personal information: their names, place of residence, dates of birth, phone numbers. Some soldiers wrote this information in Hebrew on a paper. They asked Yousef to hold the paper in his hands and took a picture of him. Yousef and Ahmad were held in two separate rooms for about three hours. Then some soldiers took Yousef into the room where Ahmad was detained. They left them handcuffed in a room for another three hours. Then some soldiers made the fishermen get in a Jeep and brought them to Erez.

Erez and the interrogation

At Erez, the two fishermen were brought into a room and interrogated separately.

The investigator asked Yousef about his name, his family, his brothers, the age of his relatives, his work and other personal information. “The detective showed me on a computer a map of the city of Jabalia, he told me the name of the streets with specific details,” he said. “He asked me to select my house. He showed me a house in which some people working for Hamas and the al-Qassam brigades are living, and he asked me if I know them. I said no. Then he showed me other houses belonging to people connected with Hamas. He indicated more than two houses. He was trying to get information from me. I said I don’t know anything. He told me ‘Are you afraid? You are in a safe place and you can tell us everything. These people are trying to destroy your life, they are terrorists.’ He indicated about six families that live in my neighborhood”.

The investigator showed him also the beach and asked him on which part of the beach he usually works and where he keeps his boat. The investigator also asked him also about a police site in the area and how many people work there. Yousef replied that he knows only two policemen, to whom the fishermen show their permits on the beach, and that he doesn’t go to the governmental site. The investigator asked Yousef about a training site of the al-Qassam brigades. Yousef replied that he doesn’t know anything about it. “The investigator then showed me photos of some hasakat [small fishing boats] and asked me to whom they belong, and he asked me about some cafes on the beach and about the harbor. I told him that I don’t know anything about the harbor and I don’t go there. The investigator asked me ‘In Jabalia refugee camp there is a site that belongs to Hamas?’ I told him that I don’t know.”

“The investigator asked me what I thought of al-Sisi [commander of the Egyptian armed forces] and how the relation are between Hamas and al-Sisi. I told him that I do not follow the news or politics. I said,‘I go to fish and I go home’.

“The detective told me ‘If you are near the border and you get shot by the army, who will you blame and would you consider responsible?’ ‘You are responsible,’ I said. He replied ‘Hamas should be blamed, not us.’”

“The investigator then asked me, ‘What do you think of the Hamas government and what is your opinion of it in comparison with Fatah? Do you feel comfortable? Why did you elected them? You were happy under the Israeli government. Many Palestinians came here to work and had money. Can you compare your current life to the life in which Israel controlled Gaza?’ I told him that I’m only 18 years old. I can’t know and I have never gone to Israel.”

The investigator then asked Yousef about the tunnels , Yousef replied that he’s just a fisherman and has never seen one. Finally, the investigator asked him if he was feeling hungry. Yousef said yes. The soldiers brought him a shawarma sandwich and a Coke.

Yousef was then taken to another room and remained there for an hour. Meanwhile, investigators had questioned his cousin Ahmad. The soldiers then accompanied the two young fishermen to the Erez gate and told them to return to the Gaza Strip.

“They closed the door behind us,” he said.

Their relatives, frightened by the lack of news, had tried to contact the International Committee of the Red Cross and other organizations. They also asked some fishermen to look for them in the sea. But only around 11:00 pm did the ICRC inform them that the two had been arrested.

Escalation

The fishermen told us that since the beginning of 2014, there has been an increase in Israeli attacks on Gaza fishermen and the situation is worsening day by day. According to the fishermen, Israeli attacks increase during fishing seasons.

Loss and hope

The large family Abo Warda, whose name is also used to denote the area where it lives, includes about 35 fishermen, of whom about half have been arrested.

In November, two other young men from the same family, Saddam and Mahmoud Abo Warda, were also arrested. One of them suffered a light injury inthe abdomen caused by Israeli gunfire. Both were attacked while fishing on a boat without an engine, and were therefore unable to escape.

Several of the family’s boats have been confiscated and are currently in the Israeli port of Ashdod.

Yousef and Ahmad have lost their fishing nets.

“Before, we had three boats with nets,” Yousef said. “Now my family has only one boat and no nets. I ask the international community to stop these Israeli attacks.”

“Eight persons in this house are fishermen,” another fisherman said. “One of our boats was damaged during Israel’s ‘Operation Pillar of Defense’ in November 2012. We can’t fix it and need to buy new nets.”

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.