Fishermen are seen at a port in Gaza City, Aug. 16, 2020. Palestinian fishermen from the blockaded Gaza Strip are complaining about being deprived of access to the sea amid the military tensions between the Israeli army and the Islamic Hamas movement, ruler of Gaza. (Photo by Rizek Abdeljawad/Xinhua)
by Sanaa Kamal
GAZA, Aug. 17 (Xinhua) -- Palestinian fishermen from the blockaded Gaza Strip are complaining about being deprived of access to the sea amid the military tensions between the Israeli army and the Islamic Hamas movement, ruler of Gaza.
The fishermen all told Xinhua that they were "shocked" by the Israeli decision to prevent them from fishing, saying they had not been "informed about the complete closure."
"We are hostages to the political situation in the coastal enclave," said Hussain Abu Ryala, a local fisherman, while pulling his nets from the boat.
"Neither Israel nor the local authorities care about the fishermen and their families," the 19-year-old added.
Israel on Sunday announced the closure of the fishing area off Gaza's coast until further notice, a move that is certain to hit local fishers as fishing is all but their only source of livelihood.
Mohammed Baker, another fisherman from Gaza, said he was worried about his situation, especially if the military tensions continued for longer.
As the sole breadwinner for his family, the 42-year-old man told Xinhua that his children "will suffer from hunger if nobody extends a helping hand."
The father of six expressed his hope to see the end of the military tensions as soon as possible to "restore their normal life without any worries."
Kamil Abu Rukun, coordinator of Israeli activities in the West Bank and Gaza, said the Israeli decision came "as a response to the violent acts carried out by Hamas such as the launch of arson balloons from Gaza into Israeli towns."
According to the Egypt-brokered cease-fire between Hamas and Israel, the fishermen were allowed to operate within 15 nautical miles, before Israel slashed the number to eight and then closed the fishing zone completely.
Nizar Ayyash, chairman of the Palestinian Fishermen Association in Gaza, told Xinhua that Israeli naval forces are pursuing Palestinian fishermen from a distance of eight miles (12.8 km) "without notifying them that fishing is prohibited."
The Israeli army said on Sunday that its war jets and aircraft struck Hamas sites in the Gaza Strip after rockets and firebombs were launched into Israel.
The violence came amid weeks of tensions, which according to Palestinian and Israeli commentators was triggered by Israel's refusal to allow the transfer of Qatari money to the besieged Palestinian enclave.
Israel and Hamas had fought three rounds of war with occasional bursts of violence in between. Over the past months, both sides kept an unofficial cease-fire. Enditem
