Israel has announced further reductions of the Gaza Strip's fishing zone, stating it was in response to the weekly protests near the fence east of the coastal enclave.

Israeli Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman's office said in a statement on Saturday that the fishing zone will be reduced from nine nautical miles to six nautical miles.

Lieberman cited Friday's "riots" at the fence dividing Gaza and Israel as contributing to his decision, in addition to the midweek beach protests in which fishing boats and protesters gathered at the northwest end of the Gaza Strip.

Three Palestinians, including a 12-year-old boy, were killed in Friday's protest, bringing the total death toll to at least 183 Palestinians since the demonstrations began on March 30.

Fishing zone restrictions

Under the Oslo Accords, fishermen are supposed to be allowed to operate up to 20 nautical miles off the coast.

However, Israel has restricted Palestinian fishing boats to a much smaller area since it imposed an economic blockade on Gaza in 2007.

Palestinian officials have accused Israeli forces of opening fire at fishermen off the Gaza coast based on claims they have violated the set fishing zone.

Earlier on Saturday, Israeli naval forces also detained two Palestinian fishermen off the coast of northern Gaza City.

Around 50,000 Gazans earn their living from fishing, according to Palestinian estimates.

After Israel's devastating military offensive on Gaza in the summer of 2014, in which some 2,150 Palestinians were killed, Israel began allowing Palestinian fishermen to fish up to six nautical miles off the Gaza coast, up from the previous three nautical miles.

Last May, Israeli authorities increased the fishing area to nine nautical miles.</s>JERUSALEM, Oct 6 — Israel’s defence minister today ordered a reduction of the fishing zone along the Gaza Strip’s coastline, in retaliation for clashes along the border fence with the Palestinian enclave.

The fishing zone will be reduced to six nautical miles (11 kilometres) from nine nautical miles, a statement by Avigdor Lieberman’s office said.

Restrictions on the extent of fishing zones along the Gaza shoreline form part of Israel’s economic blockade of the Strip, which has been in place for more than a decade.

Under the Oslo Accords of the early 1990s, fishermen are supposed to be allowed to operate up to 20 nautical miles off the coast.

Lieberman decided to reduce the fishing zone after violent incidents on Friday along the border between Israel and Gaza, the defence ministry statement said.

Three Palestinians were killed by Israeli fire during protests along the border fence yesterday, while 376 were wounded, including 126 with bullet wounds, Gaza’s health ministry said.

The Israeli army said around 20,000 Palestinians had demonstrated, throwing grenades, explosive devices and stones towards soldiers posted behind the border fence.

Ahead of the latest protests, Lieberman had yesterday issued a warning to Hamas, the Islamist movement that controls Gaza.

The defence minister indicated that Israel would step up its retaliation against the protests after the Jewish holiday season, which ended early this week.

“We got through the High Holy days exactly as we had planned, without an eruption ... and while exacting a high price on the rioters along the Gaza border”, he said in a tweet.

“But the holidays are now behind us. I tell the leaders of Hamas: ‘Take that into account’”, he added.

Palestinians have been protesting at least weekly along the Gaza border since March 30 in what they call the “Great March of Return”.

Protesters are demanding an end to the blockade and for Palestinian refugees to be allowed to return to homes their families fled in the 1948 war surrounding Israel’s creation.

Yesterday’s protests were bigger than those in recent weeks.

At least 198 Palestinians have been killed since the protests began, while one Israeli soldier has been shot dead over the same period. — AFP</s>Israel's defense minister on Saturday ordered a reduction of the fishing zone along the Gaza Strip's coastline in retaliation for ongoing border protests. The fishing zone will be reduced to six nautical miles (11 kilometers) from nine nautical miles, a statement by Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman's office said.

According to the fishermen's union, roughly 50,000 Gazans earn their living from fishing. Restrictions on the extent of fishing zones along the Gaza shoreline form part of Israel's economic blockade of the Strip, which has been in place for more than a decade. After Israel's devastating military onslaught against Hamas-run Gaza in mid-2014 in which some 2,150 Palestinians were killed, Israel began allowing Palestinian fishermen to fish up to six nautical miles off the Gaza coast, as opposed to three nautical miles previously. In May, Israeli authorities increased the fishing area for Gazan fishermen to nine nautical miles. The Oslo interim peace accords in the early 1990s set a 20-nautical-mile limit, which was never implemented. Since then the zone has ranged in size between three and six nautical miles.

A senior Palestinian official on Saturday slammed Israel's decision to reduce the fishing area off the Gaza Strip coast as "unjust and unfair."

"Although Israel expanded the fishing area in August to nine nautical miles, the Israeli naval forces continued its harassment against Gazan fishermen, which badly affected the amount of fish they were catching," said Nizar Ayyash, head of Gaza's fishermen union, as reported by Chinese news agency, Xinhua.

Palestinians have been protesting at least weekly along the Gaza border since March 30 in what they call the "Great March of Return." Protesters are demanding an end to the blockade and for Palestinian refugees to be allowed to return to homes their families fled in the 1948 war surrounding Israel's creation. Friday's protests were bigger than those in recent weeks. At least 198 Palestinians have been killed since the protests began, while one Israeli soldier has been shot dead over the same period. Israel was criticized by a U.N. human rights body for its killing of protesters in Gaza and treatment of Palestinians, declaring it a war crime under the Statute of Rome. The high casualty toll triggered a diplomatic backlash against Israel and new charges of excessive use of force against unarmed protesters.

Since 2007, the Gaza Strip has been under a crippling Israeli and Egyptian blockade that has gutted its economy and deprived its roughly 2 million inhabitants of many vital commodities, including food, fuel and medicine. In the long-embargoed enclave, the humanitarian situation has gotten worse each day.

Dozens of Palestinians demonstrated against high unemployment rates in the Gaza Strip yesterday, which has been reeling under a crippling Israeli blockade. Protesters called on local authorities and the Ramallah-based Ministry of Labor to intervene to create jobs for jobless Palestinians in the seaside enclave.

"Today, poor families in Gaza are coming out to raise their voices in the face of the Palestinian Authority [PA] and the international community," Talal Abu Zarifa, a member of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP), which organized the rally, told Anadolu Agency (AA).

"We tell the PA that you have to correct your policy and put an end to the division that has turned the Gaza Strip into a disaster zone in conjunction with the [Israeli] blockade." Abu Zarifa went on to decry the "continued silence of the international community" towards the Israeli blockade on the Gaza Strip.

Last month, the World Bank warned that the Gaza economy was in "free fall," calling on Israel and the international community to take immediate actions to avoid "immediate collapse" in the Palestinian territory. According to the bank, unemployment is now over 50 percent and over 70 percent among Gaza's youth.</s>The offshore area where Gazans are allowed to fish has been reduced by Tel Aviv to six nautical miles, in retaliation to the violence during weekly border protests, amid heightening tensions between Israelis and Palestinians.

Tightening Israel’s economic blockade of the Gaza Strip, Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman ordered the reduction of the Palestinian offshore fishing zone from nine nautical miles to six. The drastic measure was taken in response to the ongoing Great March of Return riots and to sea protests, in which Palestinian boats sail up to the maritime boundary between Israel and the coastal Palestinian enclave.

“The defense minister’s decision was made following the violent rioting over the weekend near the [security] fence and attempts to harm IDF forces and launch confrontational flotillas at the maritime border,” said a statement issued by the ministry.

Furthermore, following consultations with senior IDF and Shin Bet officers, Lieberman instructed them to be prepared to take “additional steps if the violent incidents continue.” The move, which was also discussed with the coordinator of government activities in the territories (COGAT), may be followed by more restrictions placed on Gaza's only commercial crossing with Israel, the Kerem Shalom.

In violation of the Oslo Accords, which allowed Palestinian fishermen to operate up to 20 nautical miles off the coast, Israel had previously imposed restrictions on Palestinian fishing rights following the economic blockade on Gaza in 2007. Around 50,000 Gazans earn their living from fishing. Palestinians have repeatedly accused Israel of firing at fishermen off the Gaza coast which Tel Aviv justified as a violation of the set fishing zone. Earlier on Saturday, Israeli naval forces detained two Gazan fishermen off the coast of northern Gaza City.

Tel Aviv considers both the ongoing Great March of Return protests and Palestinian flotillas as “provocations” and has repeatedly blamed Hamas for inflaming tensions.

So far, 198 Palestinians have been killed and over 21,000 injured in the weekly clashes. Despite the growing toll, Israel continues to use sniper fire, rubber bullets and tear gas to suppress the Great March of Return protests, which began on March 30. On Friday, three people, including a 12-year-old, were killed by Israeli troops as some 20,000 Palestinians rallied at the border fence.

Think your friends would be interested? Share this story!</s>In this file photo taken in July last year, Gazan fishermen are seen near an Israeli ship near the strip’s Mediterranean coast (Photo courtesy of Quds Press)

OCCUPATION JERUSALEM — Authorities on Saturday ordered a reduction of the fishing zone along the Gaza Strip's coastline, in retaliation for confrontations along the border fence with the Palestinians in the besieged Gaza enclave.

The fishing zone will be reduced to 11 kilometres from 16 kilometres, a statement by Avigdor Lieberman's office said.

Restrictions on the extent of fishing zones along the Gaza shoreline form part of Israel's economic blockade of the Strip, which has been in place for more than a decade.

Under the Oslo Accords of the early 1990s, fishermen are supposed to be allowed to operate up to 33 kilometres off the coast.

Lieberman decided to reduce the fishing zone after violent incidents on Friday along the border between Israel and Gaza, the statement said.

Three Palestinians were killed by Israeli fire during protests along the border fence on Friday, while 376 were wounded, including 126 with bullet wounds, the Palestinian health ministry in Gaza said.

Palestinians have been protesting at least weekly along the Gaza border since March 30 in what they call the "Great March of Return".

Protesters are demanding an end to the blockade and for Palestinian refugees to be allowed to return to homes their families fled in the 1948 war surrounding Israel’s creation.

Friday’s protests were bigger than those in recent weeks.

At least 198 Palestinians have been killed since the protests began.</s>JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel announced new restrictions on Gaza Saturday, weeks after the territory’s Hamas rulers stepped up protests along the enclave’s land and sea borders with Israel. Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman has ordered the…

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel announced new restrictions on Gaza Saturday, weeks after the territory’s Hamas rulers stepped up protests along the enclave’s land and sea borders with Israel.

Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman has ordered the permissible zone for Gaza fishermen to be scaled down from nine to six nautical miles and threatened “additional steps if the violent incidents continue,” according to a statement by COGAT, the Israeli defense body that coordinates civil affairs for the Palestinian territories.

Other measures could include more restrictions at Kerem Shalom, Gaza’s prime commercial crossing point and the only one with Israel.

Lieberman cited Friday’s “riots” at the fence dividing Gaza and Israel as contributing to his decision, in addition to the midweek beach protests in which fishing boats and protesters gather at the northwest end of the Gaza Strip where its sea and land barriers meet with Israel.

Hamas seized Gaza forcibly from the Palestinian Authority in 2007 after winning legislative elections a year earlier. The Islamic militant group has since March initiated protests on a weekly basis, demanding an end to an Israeli-Egyptian blockade that has made it increasingly difficult for the group to govern.

Hamas accuses Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who governs parts of the West Bank, of thwarting regional efforts to reach a Gaza cease-fire that could ease the closure.

Hamas has in response escalated and intensified the protests recently, adding locations and leading night gatherings near the fence where activists use sound bombs and laser lights to distract soldiers.

On Friday, three Palestinians, among them a 13-year-old boy, were killed by Israeli troops during protests at five locations along the frontier.

Israel said the demonstrators threw grenades at the soldiers, adding that they also tore at parts of the fence with bolt cutters.

At least 148 Palestinians either participating or present at the marches were killed by Israeli fire have been killed since the protests began in March, including 33 under the age of 18 years. A Gaza sniper shot dead an Israeli soldier in August.

Copyright © 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.</s>Three Palestinians, including a 12-year-old boy, were killed in the Gaza Strip after the Israeli army opened fire on protesters near the fence between Israel and the blockaded Palestinian territory, the Gaza health ministry has said.

Fares Hafez al-Sersawi, 12, and 24-year-old Mahmud Akram Mohammed Abu Samane both died after being shot in the chest during demonstrations east of Gaza City, ministry spokesman Ashraf al-Qudra said.

Hussein al-Rakab, 28, died after being shot in the head near Khan Yunis in the south of the Gaza Strip, Qudra said.

Another 376 people were wounded, including 126 who were shot, according to health ministry figures.

Seven Palestinians were in a critical condition, including a medical volunteer, the ministry said.

Palestinians had expressed fears about increased violence during this week’s demonstrations after the Israeli army announced on Thursday that it would be bolstering its forces near the frontier. Israeli Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman also hinted that the Israeli army would respond forcefully to the protests this week, tweeting “the holidays are over” on Friday morning, referring to the end of a month-long series of Jewish holidays.

Lieberman was recently accused of being too lenient toward the protesters in Gaza by Israel’s hardline education minister, Naftali Bennett.

According to Qidreh at the Gaza health ministry, 197 Palestinians have been killed and more than 21,600 injured since the protests began at the end of March.

Forty-four children have been slain since the protests began, according to the group Defense for Children International.

“The international community must work to bring about an end to all forms of collective punishment caused by the ongoing blockade on Gaza since 2007,” said Defense for Children International-Palestine Accountability Program director Ayed Abu Eqtaish.

After a relatively quiet period in which the protests continued in a more limited capacity as Israel and Hamas discussed a now-stalled, long-term truce agreement, seven Palestinians were killed last Friday.

The protests are now entering their seventh month. Palestinians began participating in the Great March of Return on 30 March, one of the biggest mass demonstrations since the Second Intifada.</s>GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) — Two Palestinians were killed by Israeli fire and another 60 injured at a protest along the Gaza border amid ongoing Egyptian efforts to broker a cease-fire, Gaza’s Health Ministry said Friday.

The protesters threw rocks and firebombs from behind clouds of black smoke of burning tires at Israeli troops, who responded with tear gas and sometimes live fire.

Israel’s military said some Palestinians also threw improvised explosives and firebombs at the fence and that several were spotted briefly crossing into Israeli territory. It said troops “fired live rounds selectively according to standard operating procedures.”

Hamas officials have been meeting with Egyptian officials in Cairo for days, hammering out details of a possible truce with Israel.

Israel and Hamas have come close to serious conflict in recent weeks after four months of violence along Gaza’s border. In several instances Gaza militants fired rockets and mortars at Israel which responded with airstrikes on Gaza.

Hamas has led weekly border protests aimed in part at drawing attention to the Israeli-Egyptian blockade imposed after Hamas took control of Gaza. Large turnout at the protests has also been driven by widespread desperation in Gaza, amid worsening conditions linked to the blockade. Power is on for just a few hours a day, unemployment has sky-rocketed and poverty is widening.

Abdelatif al-Qanou, a Hamas spokesman, said the protests forced Israel to reconsider its blockade policy. “Our people’s sacrifice in the protests will be translated into national achievements soon,” he said.

Since the Gaza protests began at the end of March, 168 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire, including at least 125 protesters, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry and a local rights group. An Israeli soldier was killed by a Gaza sniper during this same period.

Israel says it is defending its border and accuses Hamas, a group sworn to its destruction, of using the protests as cover for attempts to breach the border fence and attack civilians and soldiers. Palestinians have thrown explosive devices and opened fire at forces along the border in numerous instances over the past few months, the military says. But the high casualty rate among mainly unarmed protesters has drawn international criticism.

Also Friday, Israeli police said officers shot and “neutralized” a 30-year-old man from an Arab town in Israel who tried to stab them as they were on duty in Jerusalem’s Old City. Israeli media said the attacker was killed.

Since 2015, Palestinians have killed over 50 Israelis, two visiting Americans and a British tourist in stabbings, shootings and car-ramming attacks. Israeli forces killed over 260 Palestinians in that period, most of them attackers.

These attacks were at times daily but have since significantly decreased.

The Palestinians and human rights groups have accused Israeli forces of using excessive force in some confrontations and of killing Palestinians who did not pose an imminent deadly threat.

Copyright © 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.</s>JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel on Wednesday opened its only cargo crossing with the Gaza Strip weeks after closing it amid a surge in violence with the Islamic militant group Hamas.

The reopening of the Kerem Shalom crossing came as Egypt was stepping up efforts to broker a lasting cease-fire. It was not clear if the move was part of a broader deal in the works.

Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman said that the reopening of the crossing was “a clear message to residents of the Strip: Quiet pays and violence doesn’t pay.”

Kerem Shalom is the main commercial crossing between Israel and the Gaza Strip, and serves as the primary avenue for food, fuel, construction materials and aid to enter the beleaguered Palestinian territory. Israel and Egypt have imposed an economically crippling blockade on Gaza since Hamas seized control of the coastal territory from the internationally backed Palestinian Authority in 2007.

Israel says the blockade is needed to contain Hamas, a militant group that seeks its destruction. While the closure has devastated Gaza’s economy, it has failed to oust Hamas or loosen its grip on power.

In the past month, Israel and Hamas have engaged in three rounds of heavy fighting, with Hamas firing dozens of rockets into Israel and the Israeli military carrying out dozens of airstrikes in Gaza. The latest fighting ended a week ago.

Israel halted Gaza commercial imports last month, and terminated fuel shipments almost two weeks ago in response to incendiary kites and balloons launched from Gaza that have burned forest and farmland in southern Israel. Israel temporarily suspended fuel shipments to Gaza in July for similar reasons.

Fuel shortages in Gaza have contributed to chronic power outages that have left its 2 million residents with just a few hours of electricity a day. The United Nations had warned that the closure of the crossing would make the situation even worse.

In addition to reopening the crossing Wednesday, Israel also eased restrictions on fishing off Gaza’s coast.

“The residents of Gaza have much to gain when the citizens of Israel enjoy peace and security, and much to lose when quiet is disturbed,” Lieberman said.

Hamas is demanding an end to the decade-long blockade as a condition for a long-term truce. Israel is believed to be offering a more limited easing of the closures.

Israel is demanding a halt to all rocket fire and incendiary balloon attacks, and wants Hamas to return the remains of two dead Israeli soldiers and free two Israeli civilians it is believed to be holding.

In recent months, Hamas has led regular mass protests along the border that are partly aimed at lifting the blockade. Since the protests began in March, at least 164 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire, including 121 protesters. During that time, a Gaza sniper killed an Israeli soldier.

Israel says it is defending its border against attempts by Hamas to infiltrate and carry out attacks. But it has come under heavy international criticism over the large number of unarmed protesters who have been killed or wounded.

Lieberman said his country “will do everything to ensure the security of the citizens of Israel, and if Hamas turns to violence again, we will respond immediately and in a much more severe manner than before.”

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres welcomed the reopening of the Kerem Shalom crossing and the expansion of the fishing zone off Gaza, said U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric.

Guterres “is encouraged to see that those concerned have responded to calls to avoid the devastating impact of yet another conflict on the civilian population in and around Gaza,” he said.

Associated Press writer Edith M. Lederer at the United Nations contributed to this report.

Copyright © 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.</s>By The Associated Press

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel’s defense minister has announced he will reopen the country’s main personnel crossing with the Gaza Strip following a week of relative calm along the border.

Avigdor Lieberman said Sunday that after consultation with the country’s security agencies, he ordered the opening of the Erez border crossing on Monday.

The decision to reopen the crossing comes amid efforts by Egypt to mediate a possible ceasefire between Gaza’s Hamas rulers and Israel following weeks of intense violence at the border.

The sides have come close to serious conflict in recent weeks, as militants have fired rockets at Israel, which responded with airstrikes.

Hamas, which rules the Gaza Strip and doesn’t recognize Israel, seeks an easing of the decade-long, crippling Israeli-Egyptian blockade on the Palestinian territory in exchange for a lasting truce.

Copyright © 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.
Defense Minister of Israel Avigdor Lieberman says that Israel will reduce the fishing zone off the Gaza Strip from 9 nautical miles (17 km; 10 mi) to 6 nautical miles (11 km; 6.9 mi) as a reaction to the weekly Gaza border protests. Three Palestinians were killed in yesterday's protest, in which over 20,000 protestors took part.