Loading…

Ashraf Shannon
Press TV, Gaza
The Israeli regime has decided to decrease the fishing limit off the coast of Gaza to eight nautical miles for what it calls launching of incendiary balloons from the blockaded enclave. This is while Gazan fishermen need a fishing area of at least 20 nautical miles to make a decent living. Palestinian fishermen come under Israeli attacks on almost a daily basis and those who get close to the fishing limit get shot or detained by the Israeli navy. Currently there are some 3,000 fishermen in the blockaded coastal sliver and only hundreds of them fish regularly as they fear being shot or arrested by Israeli naval forces. The fishing sector has traditionally been the sole source of income for thousands of families across the impoverished coastal region. Israeli attacks on fishermen deprive them of their right to work and right to liberty and security and have made it nearly impossible for most fishermen to make ends meet. By decreasing the fishing limit Israel deprives Gaza’s population of around two million, of a rich source of animal protein and increases the already high poverty rate among fishermen. Experts say that the Israeli blockade remains the root cause of the hardships affecting every aspect of life in the impoverished coastal enclave. Statistics show that Gaza’s fishery has sharply declined since 2007 due to the Israeli naval attacks and the restrictions imposed on the fishing areas.

Original Article Source: Press TV | Published on Thursday, 13 August 2020 17:37 (about 1323 days ago)