Fishers facing tight squeeze

From the International Middle East media Centre (IMEMC). The media centre is a collaboration between Palestinian and International journalists to provide an English language media coverage of Israel-Palestine.

Wednesday 8 March 2006

"Fisherman have also faced a tight squeeze due to Israeli security forces controlling where and when they can fish, creating an arbitrary 'line in the sea', and enforcing it at will, firing at fishermen when they enter the sea to fish out of their small boats.

Director of the marine department in the agriculture Ministry, Mr. Tariq Saqer, said that fishing contributes 2% to the Palestinian national income, although it previously contributed much more.

Now, due to Israeli naval forces firing arbitrarily at fishermen, they are afraid to venture outside of a two-square mile area of coast, a tiny patch that is completely insufficient to provide the fish necessary to maintain their livelihood.

The United Nations and various human rights groups have condemned the Israeli closure and economic and military control of the Gaza Strip, saying that the current closure is causing a severe food crisis in Gaza."

The beginning of the IMEMC article speaks about the financial catastrophe of the Gush Katif greenhouses - transferred to the Palestinian Administration as a gift - due to Israeli closing of the Karni crossing between Israel and the Gaza Strip since February 12. This shows that at the moment fishing is still the only real industry in the Strip of Gaza. But most importantly the closing of the Karni crossing, the commercial crossing for Gaza, is likely to lead to a humanitarian crisis in the Strip: flour stocks are finished as well as other basic food commodities.