Israeli naval boats Saturday morning detained two Palestinian fishermen offshore As-Sudaniya, northwest of Gaza city, and troops opened gunfire at farmers tending their farmlands, east of Gaza city, reported WAFA correspondent.
Israeli naval forces chased and opened gunfire at a number of fishing boats offshore As-Sudaniya, detaining two fishermen identified as Abdul-Latif Furuj and Ahmad Abu-Hassan.
Naval forces reportedly escorted the two fishermen to the Israeli seaport of Ashdod and seized their boat.
Meanwhile, Israeli troops and tanks stationed in Nahal Oz and Malka military bases at the border between Israel and the besieged coastal enclave opened gunfire at Palestinian farmers tending their lands, east of Az-Zaitoun and Ash-Shaja’iyya.
Although no injuries were reported, farmers were forced to flee their lands for fear of being injured or detained.
Israeli army and navy routinely open fire at Palestinian fishermen and farmlands along the Gaza border in a blatant violation of a ceasefire deal reached between Israel and the Palestinian factions following 51 days of bloody aggression on the Strip in the 2014 summer.
The ceasefire deal stipulated that Israel would immediately ease the blockade imposed on the strip and expand the fishing zone off Gaza’s coast, allowing fishermen to sail as far as six nautical miles from shore, and would continue to expand the area gradually.
In a fact sheet about Israeli attacks on border areas and their consequences, the Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR) said following so-called ‘disengagement’ from the Gaza Strip in September 2005, Israel unilaterally and illegally established a so-called buffer zone, an area prohibited to Palestinians along the land and sea borders of the Gaza Strip.
The precise area designated by Israel as a buffer zone is not clear and this Israeli policy is typically enforced with live fire. The establishment of the ‘buffer zone’ is illegal under both Israeli and international law.
It added that preventing Palestinians from accessing their lands and fishing areas violates numerous provisions of international human rights law, including the right to work, the right to an adequate standard of living, and the right to the highest attainable standard of health.
Highlighting the consequences of Israeli attacks on farmers, PCHR said attacks against civilians take place anywhere up to approximately 1.5 Km inside the border fence (approximately 17% of the total territory of the Gaza Strip).
It said approximately 27,000 dunums (35% of the Gaza Strip’s agricultural land) can only be accessed under high personal risk, as Israeli attacks may result in injury or death of civilians and that 95% of the restricted area is arable land.
Explaining the consequences of attacks on fishermen, PCHR said Palestinians are completely prevented from accessing 85% of the Palestinian maritime areas recognised in the 1994 Gaza Jericho Agreement.
It noted that ·about 3,700 out of 8,200 fishermen work under high personal risk every day at sea and that about 65,000 persons, including individuals who work in the fishing industry and their dependents, are affected by the buffer zone restrictions at sea.
Wafa © 2016