Friday, April 30, 2010

Witnesses: Israeli warships fire on Rafah-area fishermen

Gaza – Ma’an – Between 2 and 3am Friday morning fishermen working on the Rafah coast reported heavy fire at fishing boats out at sea near the Tel As-Saltan beach.

Witnesses reported no injuries and the boats all returned safely to shore.

An Israeli military official said neither the southern command offices nor naval officials were aware of any incidents in the area overnight. She noted, however, that when Palestinian fishing vessels cross the enforced three nautical-mile fishing limit, warning shots are routinely fired in the air.

Under the Oslo Agreements, a fishing limit of 20 nautical miles was agreed to by Palestinian and Israeli negotiators, but in 2006 it was unilaterally reduced to 6 nautical miles, and in 2009 it was unilaterally reduced to three nautical miles.