Gaza fishermen hope to reclaim the sea after Israeli pullout
AFP
Date: 08-12-05
GAZA CITY (AFP) - In a few days, Israel will evacuate its Gaza Strip settlements after 38 years of occupation in a move local Palestinian fishermen hope will allow them to also reclaim their share of the Mediterranean.
The Palestinian fishermen in Gaza claim they are risking their lives every time they sail out to sea, accusing the Israeli coast guards of opening fire on any boat straying too far from the shore.
"Venturing more than six nautical miles from the coast can cost us our lives," says Mohsen Abu Riyala, a 38-year-old fisherman.
"We get shot at by the Israeli navy almost every day. Sometimes they arrest us, confiscate our boats or sink them for no reason," added Abu Riyala who started fishing with his father more than two decades ago.
After more than 10 hours at sea, he came back with a paltry catch of sardines and mullet. "We have to work 24 hours a day to eke out a living," he complains, singling out what he calls the harassment of the coast guards.
Abu Riyala says he and the 3,000 fishermen living in the Gaza Strip have been left in the dark as to what impact the imminent Israeli pullout will have on their livelihood.
On August 17, Israeli security forces are due to start evacuating those among the 8,000 Jews living in 21 Gaza settlements who have not already left their homes.
It is part of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's so-called 'disengagement plan'.
"I hope the situation will improve so that we are allowed to reach waters abounding in fish some 20 miles from the shore," says Abu Riyala, whose three brothers are also fishermen and struggling to feed their families.
According to the head of Gaza's fishing union, Mohammed Zaqut, two Palestinian fishermen have been shot dead by Israeli forces and several others wounded since the start of the intifada in September 2000.
The Israeli navy often slaps a maritime blockade on the area, forbidding Palestinian fisherman from leaving the shore altogether. Most of the time, they are allowed to sail out as far as eight miles but Zaqut says Israeli-Palestinian accords provided for a 20-mile deep fishing zone.
With the settlements occupying 40 percent of the Gaza Strip's 45-kilometre-long (28-mile-long) coastline, Palestinian fishing boats are confined to a few restricted areas.
Anyone venturing too close to the "territorial waters" of the Gush Katif settlement bloc would immediately be chased down by Israeli patrols.
All the Palestinians have for the moment is a tiny port in the central Gaza Strip city of Deir al-Balah that was built by the Palestinian Authority in 1997.
Israel and the Palestinian Authority had agreed in 1999 that a larger port would be built for exclusive Palestinian use.
The construction started in July 2000 but was halted three months later when Israel blocked the supply of building material a month into the bloody intifada.
The Palestinian Authority has complained that Israel has failed to provide satisfactory information on the fate of issues such as the seaport and the airport after the pullout, which are crucial to Gaza's economy and autonomy.
Zaqut says the fishing industry only contributes two percent to the total Palestinian GDP, down from 17 percent before the start of the intifada.
"We don't want to see the Israelis controlling the sea any more. We should be able to fish freely," says Salah, a 34-year-old fisherman.
Israeli hardliners opposed to the evacuation of the settlements argue that relinquishing control of the Gaza Strip will allow Palestnian militant groups to build up their military capacity.
At age 82, Rajab al-Hessi is the dean of Gaza's fishing community. He is up bright and early every day of the week to supervise the work of his employees, his pipe glued to his lips.
"I have never known harder times," says Hessi, who owns three large fishing boats and 15 smaller ones. "I hope the Jews finally leave this place and give us back the sea."
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