The Egyptian Navy arrested on Sunday three Palestinian fishermen after their boat capsized near the Al Arish Egyptian Port. The fishermen were in Palestinian territorial waters when their fishing boat capsized. They were arrested by the Egyptian Navy and were taken for questioning at an interrogation center in Al Arish.
Palestinian fishermen sometimes elect to fish close to the Egyptian territorial waters in an attempt to avoid attacks and harassment by the Israeli Navy.
Egyptian security sources reported that the two fishermen entered Egyptian waters near Rafah, and were immediately arrested.
It is worth mentioning that four fishermen were arrested by the Egyptian Navy on February
13. Local sources reported that the fishermen were in Palestinian waters but Egypt denied the report.
Under the Oslo peace deal of 1993, Palestinian fishermen are supposed to be allowed to finish in a 37 kilometers area (20 nautical miles) of the Gaza shore, but Israel unilaterally reduced the area to three nautical miles.
