Gaza fishermen strike over colleague’s death by Israel

By Moamen Ghorab

GAZA CITY, Palestine

Palestinian fishermen in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday staged a one-day strike to protest the killing of a fellow fisherman by Israeli gunfire.

“The step aims to protest Israeli practices,” Nizar Ayyash, the head of the Gaza-based fishermen’s union, told Anadolu Agency.

On Monday, a Palestinian fisherman died of wounds sustained by Israeli gunfire off the Gaza coast.

Ayyash called on the UN to intervene to stop Israeli assaults against Gaza fishermen.

There was no comment from the Israeli military on the fisherman’s death.

According to the Gaza-based fishermen’s union, roughly 50,000 Gazans earn their living from fishing.

After Israel’s devastating military onslaught against Hamas-run Gaza in mid-2014, in which some 2,150 Palestinians were killed, Israel began allowing Palestinian fishermen to ply their trade up to six nautical miles off the coast of the strip, as opposed to three nautical miles previously.

A few days ago, Israeli authorities increased the fishing area for Gaza fishermen to nine nautical miles.

Since 2007, Gaza’s roughly 2 million inhabitants have groaned under a crippling Israeli blockade that has deprived them of many basic commodities, including food, fuel, medicine and building materials.