“Israeli” Navy Attacks International Observers, Fishermen
Local Editor
An "Israeli" naval warship attacked the international observers and Palestinian captain of the Civil Peace Service Gaza (CPSGAZA) boat Oliva on Wednesday, injuring its captain in an apparent attempt to capsize it.
"The "Israeli" navy passed near us and the fishermen, and started to go around us, creating waves," said Rosa Schiano, one of the international observers.
"The fishermen escaped, but we couldn't because of a problem with our engine. We couldn't move, and they went around us very quickly. The Israelis saw that we couldn't move, and that the captain was trying to fix the engine, but they didn't stop. We told them, ‘Please stop! Please stop!' But they didn't."
When the warship was two meters away from the Oliva, one of the waves it had created nearly capsized the small boat, filling it with water and causing the Palestinian captain to fall out, injuring his left leg.
After more than twenty minutes, the warship retreated, and the Oliva was rescued by a small Palestinian fishing boat, or hasaka, which threw it a line and towed it toward the shore.
The fishing community is often similarly targeted as the farmers in the ‘buffer zone' and the fishing limit is enforced with comparable aggression, with boats shot at or rammed as near as 2nm to the Gazan coast by "Israeli" gunboats.
According to agencies, the fishermen have been devastated, directly affecting an estimated 65,000 people and reducing the catch by 90%.
Recent statistics of the General Union of Fishing Workers indicate that the direct losses since the second Intifada in September 2000 were estimated at a million dollars and the indirect losses were estimated at 13.25 million dollars during the same period.
Source: News Agencies
An "Israeli" naval warship attacked the international observers and Palestinian captain of the Civil Peace Service Gaza (CPSGAZA) boat Oliva on Wednesday, injuring its captain in an apparent attempt to capsize it.
"The "Israeli" navy passed near us and the fishermen, and started to go around us, creating waves," said Rosa Schiano, one of the international observers.
"The fishermen escaped, but we couldn't because of a problem with our engine. We couldn't move, and they went around us very quickly. The Israelis saw that we couldn't move, and that the captain was trying to fix the engine, but they didn't stop. We told them, ‘Please stop! Please stop!' But they didn't."
When the warship was two meters away from the Oliva, one of the waves it had created nearly capsized the small boat, filling it with water and causing the Palestinian captain to fall out, injuring his left leg.
After more than twenty minutes, the warship retreated, and the Oliva was rescued by a small Palestinian fishing boat, or hasaka, which threw it a line and towed it toward the shore.
The fishing community is often similarly targeted as the farmers in the ‘buffer zone' and the fishing limit is enforced with comparable aggression, with boats shot at or rammed as near as 2nm to the Gazan coast by "Israeli" gunboats.
According to agencies, the fishermen have been devastated, directly affecting an estimated 65,000 people and reducing the catch by 90%.
Recent statistics of the General Union of Fishing Workers indicate that the direct losses since the second Intifada in September 2000 were estimated at a million dollars and the indirect losses were estimated at 13.25 million dollars during the same period.
Source: News Agencies
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