Friday, December 31, 2010

30.12.10 - 11:32 Gaza City – Muhammad al-Astal – Al-Quds - Palestinian fishermen face great difficulties at work on the Mediterranean Sea: even after continual naval assaults by Israeli troops that have lead to several recent deaths and injuries and major damage to their boats and fishing equipment, there is still the fact that they are forbidden from fishing in deep water and go home without enough to feed their families.

A Gaza fishing boat (Image courtesy of www.alquds.com).

Sami Bakr, 31, says that despite the great effort he exerted to avoid Israeli gunfire in his small boat, he failed: his cousin Muhammad died of injuries sustained from an Israeli raid. Most of his fishing equipment s destroyed as well.
“The lives of fishermen are bitter,” said Bakr.soldiers stationed on observation towers on the northwestern border of the Gaza Strip opened fire at Palestinian fishermen who were fishing near Beit Lahia beach in the northern Gaza Strip. As a result, Ahmed Mohammed Zayed, 25, from Beit Lahia, was wounded by a bullet to the right foot.

Sunday, 26 December 2010

At approximately 18:30, Israeli gunboats opened fire at Palestinian fishing boats opposite to al-Nussairat beach in the central Gaza Strip, forcing them to sail back to the beach.

Tuesday, 28 December 2010

At approximately 19:15, Israeli naval troops arrested 6 Palestinian fishermen who were sailing opposite to al-Sudaniya beach in the northern Gaza Strip. They took the fishermen to Ashdod Port inside Israel for interrogation. They also seized the fishing boat on board of which the fishermen were sailing.