Israeli naval forces, Saturday morning, opened live fire at Palestinian fishing boats off the coast of the northern Gaza Strip.
Witnesses told Ma’an News Agency that Israeli forces opened fire at fishermens’ boats in the north of the besieged enclave. No injuries were reported.
An Israeli army spokesperson said that they were “looking into reports”.
Israeli military incursions inside the besieged Gaza Strip and near the “buffer zone” which lies on both land and sea sides of Gaza, have long been a near-daily occurrence.
Palestinians who work near the zone often come under fire from military forces, as the Israeli military has not made clear the precise area of the designated zone.
The Israeli army regularly open fires on Palestinian fishermen and farmers along the border areas, despite a ceasefire agreement that ended the 2014 war.
See archive IMEMC post: 12/21/14 94 Israeli Ceasefire Violations Since August
The practice has in effect destroyed much of the agricultural and fishing sectors of the blockaded coastal enclave.
Israeli forces also regularly detain Palestinian fisherman off the coast of Gaza working within the fishing zone, generally for alleged “security reasons”.
According to the Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR), Israeli forces detained 71 fishermen and confiscated 22 fishing boats throughout 2015.
The center said that Israeli naval forces also opened fire on Palestinian fishermen at least 139 times over the course of the year, wounding 24 and damaging 16 fishing boats.
“These attacks occurred in a time where the fishers did not pose any threat to the Israeli naval troops, as they were doing their job to secure a living,” PCHR said.
(Photo: PNN archive image)
