Tuesday May 21 2013, the Radio Bethlehem 2000 has reported that Israel decided to allow Palestinian fishermen to fish within six nautical miles of the Gaza shore.Fishermen were originally allowed to fish within 20 miles, but Israel unilaterally reduced the fishing zone to six, then to three.
The decision was made during a meeting that was held between Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and Defense Minister, Moshe Yaalon.
The Israeli Navy was instructed to implement the new order, and the Israeli government notified Palestinian President, Mahmoud Abbas, of its new decision.
It is worth mentioning that Palestinian fishermen and their boats, are constantly attacked even within the three-mile zone; dozens of casualties have been reported, while dozens of fishermen have been kidnapped, and fishing boats have been illegally confiscated.
As part of the ceasefire agreement of November 2012, Israel agreed to allow the Palestinians to fish within six nautical miles of the shore, but unilaterally decreased the allotted area to three miles.
Under the Oslo accords in the mid-nineties, the Palestinians are allowed to fish in 20 nautical miles off the Gaza shore, but in 2008, Israel unilaterally reduced the fishing area to only three nautical miles.
