Israeli navy arrests 6 Palestinian fishermen off Rafah coast

Israeli naval forces arrested six Palestinian fishermen on Wednesday and sabotaged their boat off the Rafah coast in the south of the besieged Gaza Strip, according to Palestinian sources.

Zakaria Baker, an official from the fishers' committees in the Union of Agricultural Work Committees in the Gaza Strip, told The New Arab that Israeli gunboats opened fire on a group of fishermen while they were sailing north of the sea of ​​Rafah, before arresting them and confiscating their two boats.

Baker said the Israeli navy persists in creating obstacles for Palestinian fishermen in a bid to prevent them from gaining money that would help their families.

The arrests today come after the Israeli navy arrested three fishermen also in the Rafah Sea and seized their fishing boats yesterday.

Palestinian fishermen and their boats are frequently targeted by Israeli war boats and have restricted their access to the sea from time to time.

According to Nizar Ayyash, chairman of the Palestinian Fishermen Association in Gaza, 4,000 Palestinian fishermen live in the besieged Gaza Strip. At the same time, approximately 40,000 Gazans work in professions directly or indirectly related to fishing.

The number of Israeli violations against fishermen in the Strip reached 333 in 2021, including shooting, arresting, and sabotaging fishing equipment.