GAZA, May 17, 2016 (WAFA) – The Israeli navy forces Tuesday arrested two Palestinian fishermen off coast al-Sudaniya area, northwest of the city of Gaza and seized their boat.

WAFA correspondent said the navy attacked the boat, which was sailing at six nautical miles off the coast. Israeli gunboats opened fire at the fishermen and arrested Sameh Zayid, 29, and Ibrahim Zayid, 25, and seized the boat.

The two fishermen were taken to Asdoud port near the Gaza Strip.

The current six-nautical-mile fishing zone falls drastically short of the twenty nautical miles allocated to Palestinian fishermen in the 1993 Oslo Accords.

Israeli navy targets Gaza fishermen almost on a daily basis, in a blatant breach of a ceasefire agreement reached between Israel and armed Palestinian groups in august 2014, following 51 days of bloody aggression on the Gaza Strip, which claimed the lives of over 2.200 Palestinians, mostly civilians.

According to the Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR), all Israeli attacks on Palestinian fishermen have taken place within the distance of six nautical miles, which it said “proves that Israeli forces‘ policies aim to tighten restrictions on the Gaza Strip‘s fishermen and their livelihoods.”

Israel has imposed a tightened blockade since 2007 after Hamas won the democratic legislative election and took over power in the Strip.

According to OCHA weekly report covering the period between 16 and 22 of February 2016 , “At least 21 incidents involving Israeli forces opening warning fire at Palestinian civilians in the Access Restricted Areas (ARA) on land and sea in the Gaza Strip were recorded, none of which resulted in casualties.”

M.H