The Israeli occupation forces closed in eastern areas of Gaza City, and targeted fishermen’s boats at sea, today Wednesday
Local sources in Gaza said that 8 Israeli military bulldozers and 3 tanks infiltrated this morning beyond the security fence, east of the Al-Zaytoun neighborhood in Gaza City.
The sources added that these bulldozers, under the protection of tanks, bulldozed the agricultural lands of the citizens.
In the same context, the “fishermen’s committees” in Gaza stated, in a statement, that “the occupation’s warships opened fire with machine guns towards the fishermen’s boats in the open seas of the northern Gaza Strip, and chased them, without any casualties reported.”
It is noteworthy that the incursions and shootings into the Gaza border areas, and the pursuit and targeting of fishermen at sea, have become an almost daily practice in Israeli policy.
Due to the constant salinization and desertification of land in gaza– as a result of the plunging levels of clean water and the saltwater intrusion to the costal Aquifer– and the increasing urbanization of agricultural lands, turning into residential areas because of the ever-growing population in the Gaza strip, the Palestinian cultivated lands near the borders are growing in importance for providing the needed crops for food need of Gazans and a source of livelihood for their farmers as well. this is made difficult as the farmer’s journey of Mandan groundskeeping can turn into a near-death experience
the same goes for fishermen who also struggle to make a living fishing in the narrow stipulated miles. complying with the law doesn’t protect these farmers from the fickle bullets that might come at them at any time and for no clear reason.
According to a report by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, (OCHA) “in late June Israeli forces fired teargas canisters that landed inside Gaza, injuring two farmers. In two incidents, three Palestinians from Gaza, including a child, were arrested by Israeli forces”
The OCHA added, “On three occasions, Israeli forces levelled lands near the fence inside Gaza, damaging at least 10 dunums of planted crops.”
Since the beginning of this year, the Israeli occupation forces have committed more than 120 violations against Gaza fishermen. As of early June, 39 fishermen, including children, have been arrested, more than 15 fishermen have been injured to varying degrees, and destroyed and confiscated boats and fishing equipment.
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