The occupation issues rulings to detain her for years, depriving hundreds of families of their daily food
“The Cemetery of the Boats” .. The source of livelihood for Palestinian fishermen is under arrest
The fisherman, Khader al-Saedi, was deprived of his sight and source of livelihood.
Emirates today
Young fisherman Nour was deprived of livelihood and 250 people as a result of the detention of their boat.
Emirates today
The Gaza sea is home to 4,000 Palestinian fishermen, and the fishing boats are restricted by sea borders imposed by the occupation.
Emirates today
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“For nearly two weeks or more, we have not sailed at sea, and we will remain like this for several years, until the occupation releases our boat that is holding it inside the port of Ashdod.” The young Palestinian fisherman, Nour Al-Hassi, describes his suffering as a result of depriving him and his family of working in the fishing profession, After the occupation seized the fishing boat that supports more than 27 families from the Al-Hassi family, which is one of the most prominent Palestinian families working in the field of marine fishing.
Nour is standing near the fishermen's port in the west of Gaza City, closely watching the movement of fishermen's boats entering the sea water, on a business trip in search of livelihood in the depths of the Mediterranean, while he is currently forbidden to work in the fishing profession that his family has inherited for decades.
Al-Hassi fisherman says: “The occupation arrests dozens of boats and boats, and issues a sentence of detention for a period of one to five years. We can operate it immediately after its release.”
The young fisherman continues by complaining: “In this case, we will continue to suffer for long periods in the context of the livelihood war waged by the occupation against Palestinian fishermen. lonely and their families.
He points out that his family spent what they had to build a fishing vessel (Lunch Traction), which he began working on in the fishing profession seven months ago, indicating that its length is nine meters, and can accommodate dozens of fishermen, and tens of tons of fish.
On Friday, November 26, the Israeli naval gunboats raided a fishing vessel (Lunch Al-Hassi) belonging to the Al-Hassi family, and arrested all those on board from the family, namely: Jamal Jihad Al-Hassi, Muhammad Rashad Al-Hassi, Nour Rajab Al-Hissi, and Muhammad Nehru Al-Hiss. and Ahmed Rashad Al-Hassi, to release them after long hours of detention.
While the occupation forces kept the ship in detention, depriving the families of the fishermen of their livelihood, and their misery worsened, as this ship, which is one of the largest and finest types of fishing vessels in the Gaza Strip, supports approximately 250 people, all of them from one family.
Arrest details
While the fishermen of the Gaza Strip were making their way through the sea, and racing the sun before sunrise, to reach the land, after a fishing trip that lasted for 12 continuous hours, the young Nour and the Palestinian fisherman Jamal Al-Hassi, the captain of the detained fishing boat, were weaving again the fishing nets that were torn by the occupation bullets. The Israeli naval forces were at sea, while the expressions of heartbreak and sadness over their deprivation and the rest of the captive ship's 27 fishermen appeared in their eyes, searching for livelihood at sea.
The fisherman, Jamal Al-Hassi, details the incident of his arrest and his family members, and the seizure of their ship by the Israeli navy, as he says: “In the early hours of Friday morning, the end of last November, while we were fishing, a kilometer and a half from the shore of the Gaza sea (one nautical mile). Three Israeli naval boats raided us, and they directly approached our boat.”
He added, "The occupation forces fired rubber bullets directly at us through the naval boats, and I was hit in my hand, and I fell to the ground next to the rest of the fishermen. I felt my wound, then got up again, to be surprised by 30 Israeli soldiers on the deck of the boat, and they controlled it by force of arms."
Here, young Nour completes the events of the night of the arrest of the Al-Hassi family ship and its members, as he says: “Immediately, the soldiers drew their weapons directly towards us, while three soldiers surrounded me, handcuffed my hands, and then forced the captain of the ship to drive it towards the west, up to the border of six nautical miles, and from Then head north towards the port city of Ashdod.
And the fisherman Al-Hassi continues by saying: “Before reaching the port of Ashdod, the soldiers let us off our ship, and they took us by boats into the port, while they captured the fishing ship inside Ashdod.”
He added, "The occupation forces detained us for 14 hours in iron rooms and others in concrete, and then took us in a car towards the Beit Hanoun (Erez) crossing, which separates the Gaza Strip from the occupied Palestinian territories. They released us there without disclosing the reasons for what happened with us."
The young fisherman points out that the occupation always claims that the fishermen in Gaza cross the 12 nautical-mile boundary compulsorily defined by Israel, adding: “We were sailing for fishing within one nautical mile, and this is not a transgression at all, but the occupation is following these steps.” Arbitrary practices against all fishermen inside the besieged sector.
It should be noted that the Oslo peace agreement signed between the Palestine Liberation Organization and Israel in 1993 stipulated that the legal distance within which Palestinians are allowed to move freely without any Israeli objections is 20 nautical miles.
Detention of livelihood boats
This incident has been constantly and continuously repeated against the fishermen and their boats, and the fishing boats from which dozens of families live are arrested, including: Abu Al-Sadiq, Abu Amira, Bakr, Al-Amoudi, and Saadallah, where the occupation forces are still keeping their livelihood boats in detention, while these families have become without a secure source of livelihood their daily essential needs.
The fisherman Mahmoud Bakr (34 years old), while he was fishing for his livelihood in the waters of the Gaza Strip two years ago, was raided by the Israeli naval forces, and took him and his boat to the port of Ashdod, to serve a sentence of one year in prison, while the fishing boat is still under arrest by the occupation.
As for the 35-year-old fisherman, Khader Al-Saedi, the occupation deprived him of his sight after he was shot while working at sea, and he was arrested with his boat in 2019, to be deprived forever of the source of his livelihood for his children and family, while the livelihood boat remained under arrest by the occupation.
On the other hand, the head of the Palestinian Fishermen's Syndicate in the Gaza Strip, Nizar Ayyash, asserts that the occupation deliberately detains fishermen's boats and destroys their fishing equipment, indicating that the aim is to destroy the local Palestinian economy, as the fishing sector is of great importance to this economy.
He points out that the occupation is currently holding more than 30 boats and 60 engines to operate Palestinian fishermen's boats, pointing out that all the boats seized by the occupation were left in Ashdod port until they were damaged, and that part of them were returned in a dilapidated condition.
According to Ayyash, the number of Palestinian fishermen in the besieged Gaza Strip is 4,000, while approximately 40,000 people work in Gaza directly or indirectly in professions related to the field of fishing.
The occupation deprived the fisherman, Khader Al-Saeedi (35 years), of his sight, after he was shot while working at sea.
The occupation arrests dozens of boats and boats, and issues a sentence of detention for a period of one to five years, and after releasing the boat and returning it to its owners painstakingly, the rust has ravaged it, and the wood is worn out, in addition to the occupation stealing the boat’s engine so that they cannot operate it after its release .
• The head of the Palestinian Fishermen's Syndicate in the Gaza Strip, Nizar Ayyash, asserts that the occupation deliberately detains fishermen's boats and destroys their fishing equipment, indicating that the aim is to destroy the local Palestinian economy, as the fishing sector is of great importance to this economy.
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