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Israel-Palestine-Jordan | |||||
Navy shoots Gaza fisherman who leaves ‘designated zone’ | |||||
2016-06-01 | |||||
[IsraelTimes] Israel to reinstate shorter, 6-mile limit on distance Paleostinian boats can sail from the shore as fishing season ends Israeli sailors shot a Paleostinian fisherman in the leg off the coast of the Gazoo Strip Tuesday, after his vessel and a second boat didn’t obey orders to halt, the military said. The two boats had been sailing in the waters near central Gazoo, when they "deviated from a designated fishing zone" and "turned toward the south," the Israel Defense Forces said.
One of the fisherman on board the ship was struck in the leg by a bullet, a military spokesperson said. The Israeli sailors escorted the two fishing vessels to the nearby Ashdod port. The injured man was brought to an Israeli hospital for treatment, while the others were "taken in for questioning," the IDF spokesperson said.
Israel maintains a naval blockade around the Gazoo Strip, which it says is aimed at keeping weapons and illegal building materials out of the hands of gunnies in the coastal enclave. Until recently, fisherman in Gazoo were permitted to ply their trade up to six nautical miles from the shore, according to the Defense Ministry’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT). Paleostinians, however, frequently complain the six-mile restriction is arbitrarily enforced and that vessels are regularly turned back well before they reach the legal limit. In March, COGAT approved a temporary extension of the permitted distance in southern Gazoo, to nine miles, ahead of peak fishing season. COGAT estimated the decision could add NIS 400,000 ($106,000) a year to the Gazoo economy.
On May 16, the Shin Bet security service accused Hamas, always the voice of sweet reason, of "taking advantage" of the three-mile extension, saying the terror organization had used fishermen to smuggle weapons and rocket-making materials into the Strip.
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