Jerusalem: The Israeli occupation forces on Saturday arrested four Palestinian fishermen off the shores of the Gaza Strip, on the pretext that they exceeded the fishing area limits imposed by Israel, Anadolu Agency reported.
The captain of the fishermen in the Gaza Strip, Nizar Ayyash, said that the Israeli navy arrested four fishermen after targeting the fishing boat they were on with rubber bullets.
He added that the Israeli naval forces took the four fishermen to the port of Ashdod.
Ayyash explained that the fishermen were working within close proximity to the shore, and did not exceed the fishing area specified by Israel.
Seasonal targeting
As per media reports, the occupation targets fishermen’s boats in this particular period, because it is one of the most important fishing seasons, as it constitutes between 40 and 50 percent of the annual production volume.
The occupation forces had permanently prevented fishermen from entering the sea during the fishing seasons in previous years. However, they are now increasing the frequency of attacks on them at the sea.
Fishing is one of the largest business sectors in the coastal enclave, which is home to about 2.3 million Palestinians.
Israeli violations against fishermen since the beginning of this year
Al-Mizan Center for Human Rights documented 97 Israeli violations of the right of Palestinian fishermen in the open sea of the Gaza Strip during the first four months of this year.
According to the center, Israel’s continuous violations against Palestinian fishermen come in the context of its systematic policy to destroy the fishing sector. It has also imposed sanctions in an attempt to destroy the fundamentals of the Palestinian economy in Gaza.
It is noteworthy that Israel has imposed a severe siege on the Gaza Strip since 2007, and launched four military operations against it during the siege period, the last of which was last summer, which killed 260 Palestinians, in addition to extensive damage to housing and infrastructure, while 13 Israelis were killed, including a soldier.
