Israeli naval forces detained three Palestinian fishermen while working less than three nautical miles off the northern besieged Gaza Strip’s coast, on Friday morning.

Head of the Fishermen Committees in the Union of Agricultural Work Committees, Zakaria Bakr, said Israeli naval forces detained three Palestinian fishermen, who were identified as Muhammad Ghaleb al-Sultan, 27, Yousef Farid Saedallah, 35, and Fares Ahmad Saedallah, 25.

Fri 23 Nov am
$1=3.73NIS
Nablus, night raid
2 fishermen detained, n Gaza Sea
Asira al-Qibliya,sw Nablus, Price Tag graffiti
Umm Tuba,Jerusalem, settlers vandalise 7 cars
Hebron,city center army incursion
Netanyahu planning Bahrain visit
Shots fired at Jalamah checkpoint, n Jenin

— SFoP (@SFoP_Palestine) November 23, 2018

The reason for their detention remained unknown.

As part of Israel’s blockade of the coastal enclave since 2007, the Israeli army, citing security concerns, requires Palestinian fishermen to work within a limited “designated fishing zone,” the exact limits of which are decided by the Israeli authorities and have historically fluctuated.

The Gaza Strip has been the front line of confrontations between Palestinians and Israel for generations. But the territory has been brought to its knees over the last decade by three punishing wars with Israel and an air, sea and land blockade. https://t.co/GVJSMoX0q2

— AP Middle East (@APMiddleEast) November 20, 2018

The Israeli army regularly detains and opens fire on unarmed Palestinian fishermen, shepherds, and farmers along the border areas if they approach the unilaterally declared buffer zone.

Israeli human rights group B’Tselem recently concluded that Israel’s Gaza closure and “harassment of fishermen” have been “destroying Gaza’s fishing sector,” with 95 percent of fishermen living below the poverty line.

(Ma’an, PC, Social Media)