Israeli navy arrests 3 fishermen off Gaza coast

By Hidayah al-Saeedi

GAZA CITY, Palestine (AA) – Israeli naval forces arrested three Palestinian fishermen off the coast of the Gaza Strip on Saturday, according to a Palestinian official.

“The three were detained while fishing close to Al-Sudaniyya area, north of Gaza City,” Nizar Ayyash, head of Gaza’s fishermen union, told Anadolu Agency.

He said the boat carrying the three fishermen came under fire from the Israeli navy before the fishermen were detained.

The Israeli military has yet to issue a statement on the incident.

According to the fishermen union, roughly 50,000 Gazans earn their living from fishing.

After Israel's devastating military onslaught against Hamas-run Gaza in mid-2014, in which some 2,150 Palestinians were killed, Israel began allowing Palestinian fishermen to fish up to six nautical miles off the Gaza coast, as opposed to three nautical miles previously.

Last year, Israeli authorities increased the fishing area for Gazan fishermen to nine nautical miles.