A Palestinian human rights center documented 20 violations committed by the Israeli occupation army against Palestinian fishermen in the Gaza Strip, last March.
This came according to a report by the "lobby and advocacy" department in the Union of Agricultural Work Committees, citing its fishermen´s committees, issued today, Sunday. In its report, the department confirmed that the occupation forces used various methods and weapons that inflict physical and material harm on fishermen to increase their suffering, leading to preventing them from entering the sea and exercising their right to preserve their only source of livelihood. She said: "The month of March, which was the most brutal before the occupation, was characterized by the use of new and deadly warfare weapons, such as the one that targeted the Al-Lahham family boat, which resulted in the explosion of that boat and the martyrdom of three fishermen from the same family, namely the fisherman Yahya Mustafa Al-Lahham, the fisherman Hamdi Hijazi Al-Lahham and Zakaria Hijazi Al-Lahham. And that while they sail to return with a little, covering their homes and families. " He added: "The other violations practiced by the occupation on a daily basis were not far from the brutal scene that recurs every month, which is represented by shootings, rocket-propelled grenades, the pumping of wastewater and other methods that degrade human dignity. Nasr Abu Qasim and Muhammad Ashraf Al-Aour. " Also, two boats were destroyed during this month. These boats belong to the fisherman Ashraf Al-Awour, who was partially damaged, in addition to the fisherman´s Hassakeh, Hejazi Al-Lahham, the boat that the three martyrs were on board. And he considered that these brutal violations against fishermen have become a brutal routine that increases day after day by the Israeli occupation, striking all the signed agreements and international conventions on human rights and international humanitarian law. The Union of Agricultural Work Committees indicated that it documents and records these violations through its specialized pages in following up the issues of fishermen and farmers in order to highlight and expose these crimes before the international community and all local and international human rights platforms in order to obtain a cover that protects these fishermen and allows them to practice their work inside the sea without Fear away from the brutal crimes that are being used against them. According to the Fishermen´s Union, the fishing profession, which employs about 4 thousand people, has declined in an unprecedented way in the sector. Due to the decrease in the daily fishing volume, due to the restrictions imposed by the occupation authorities on the areas in which fishing is permitted. For 14 years, the Israeli occupation authorities have imposed a continuous siege on more than two million Palestinians in Gaza, which has led to a deterioration in their living and health conditions.
