Middle East Monitor / April 29, 2021
Israel’s closure of Gaza’s fishing area has increased the suffering of Palestinian fishermen, with up to 90 per cent of them live under the poverty line, Zakaria Bakr, head of the Fishermen Union Committees, told Al Aqsa Radio in Gaza yesterday.
On Monday, Israeli occupation authorities closed access to the sea to Gaza fishermen. Some 60,000 people have been affected by the arbitrary Israeli measure, according to Bakr, who reiterated that at least 90 per cent of the fishermen live under the poverty line.
He said the closure coincides with an important fishing season, and Israeli occupation authorities take similar measures at the start of each fishing season.
Israel, he continued, deliberately targets the fishing sector by limiting the fishing area, attacking fishermen and their boats while they are at sea, and preventing the import of fishing equipment.
