GAZA, September 8, 2016 (WAFA) – Israeli armed forces on Thursday opened gunfire at Palestinian farmers east of az-Zaytoun neighborhood in Gaza, which is adjacent to the Israeli border, according to Palestinian sources.

Israeli soldiers stationed in military watchtowers along the border with Gaza opened gunfire at Palestinian farmers while cultivating their lands. There were no reports of injuries.

Israeli army and navy routinely open fire at Palestinian fishermen and farmlands along the Gaza border in a blatant violation of a ceasefire deal reached between Israel and the Palestinian factions in Gaza on August 26, 2014 following 51 days of bloody aggression on the Strip.

The ceasefire deal stipulated that Israel would immediately ease the blockade imposed on the Gaza Strip and expand the fishing zone off Gaza‘s coast allowing fishermen to sail as far as six nautical miles from shore and would continue to expand the area gradually.

For 10 consecutive years, Israel has tightened the land and naval closure “to isolate the Gaza Strip from the West Bank, including occupied Jerusalem, and other countries around the world,” said the Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR).

“This resulted in grave violations of the economic, social and cultural rights and a deterioration of living conditions for 1.8 million people,” it added.

M.N./M.A.