Rights Group Slams “Israeli” Restrictions

Source: Alalam.ir, 26-2-2007
AL-QUDS--An "Israeli" human rights group slammed the Zionist military on Sunday for devastating the Gaza Strip`s lucrative fishing industry by harassing, humiliating, and even shooting Palestinian fishermen.
Although Gaza Strip fishermen are technically allowed to fish within 11 kilometers of the coast, rights group B`Tselem said the Zionist regime`s navy has illegally prohibited all fishing since the resistance fighters captured a soldier last June 25.
The seizure of conscript Gilad Shalit in a cross-border raid by Palestinian resistance groups sparked massive "Israeli" attacks on civilians three days later.
"The prohibition has seriously harmed the fishing sector, which provides a livelihood for many residents of the Strip," B`Tselem said in a statement.
"Its unofficial prohibition on fishing is unlawful in as much as it constitutes collective punishment."
Gaza Strip fishermen who ignore the ban risk being shot by patrolling "Israeli" Navy craft, B`Tselem said.
Fisherman are routinely stopped, forced to strip and swim to the "Israeli" vessels, where they are detained and taken to the port for questioning, according to research by the rights group.
Fishing has long been one of the few sources of revenue for the impoverished Gaza Strip, especially since a Western-led aid boycott of the Hamas-led government sent the Palestinian territories into an economic nosedive after Hamas took power last March.