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The
Israeli military said it apprehended four suspects after two
Palestinian vessels strayed from the designated fishing zone in
the northern Gaza Strip, "violating security restrictions". The
navy fired at the boats when they failed to respond to
instructions to halt, it added.
The secretary of the Gaza fishermen’s syndicate, Nizar Ayyash,
told Reuters there were at least three Israeli attacks on Gaza
fishermen on Saturday -- all within the permitted fishing area.
In one of the incidents, he said, Israeli forces fired rubber
bullets at a boat, wounding two of the four people aboard who
were later hospitalised. In another, they seized a small boat
after detaining the two fishermen on board, he added.
"We have recorded several violations against fishermen within
the permitted fishing zone in the past weeks," said Ayyash.
Fishing is one of the biggest industries in the coastal enclave,
home to some 2.3 million Palestinians.
Israel maintains a land, air and sea blockade of Gaza, which is
governed by the Islamist militant group Hamas, citing security
concerns. Boats are not allowed to stray beyond a fixed limit to
the north towards Israel and Egypt keeps similar limitations to
the south-west.
(Reporting by Nidal al-Mughrabi in Gaza; Additional reporting by
Henriette Chacar in Haifa; Editing by Kirsten Donovan)
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