The fishermen were taken by the Israeli soldiers and forced to eat which breaks their fasting on the second day of Muslim holy month of Ramadan, said the witnesses.And, above all violates their basic human rights.
On Monday, two other fishermen were also injured when the Israeli gunboats targeted their fishing boats.The shooting and the detention of the fishermen violates a fragile ceasefire started from June between Israel and the Islamic Hamas movement which rules the Gaza Strip.
According to IMEMC, two wounded.
As for the Jerusalem Post, it accepts the official version of events:
The IDF spokesperson confirmed that warning shots had been fired in the direction of the fishing boats to prevent them from entering Israel's territorial waters.
Eye-witness accounts:
Free Gaza
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
ISRAELI NAVAL VESSELS FIRING ON UNARMED FISHING BOATS AND HUMAN RIGHTS
WORKERS
For more information, please contact:
(at sea, off Gaza coast) Vittorio Arrigoni, +972 598 826 516
(at sea, off Gaza coast) Donna Wallach, +972598 836 420
(Cyprus) Greta Berlin, +357 99 081 767 / iristulip@gmail.com
(Cyprus) Osama Qashoo, +357 97 793 595
(OFF THE COAST OF GAZA) 1 September 2008 - Israeli Naval vessels are
currently firing on unamrmed Palestinian fishing boats and international
human rights workers off the coast of the Gaza Strip. The fishing boats
are several miles off the coast of Gaza City, in Palestinian territorial
waters. As of 11am (4am EST) no one had been injured, but live ammunition
is still being fired in the direction of the civilian boats.
The unarmed boats went to sea at dawn this morning, in an attempt to fish
in their own water. Six international human rights workers from five
different countries accompanied the fishermen in the hopes that their
presence would deter the Israeli military from firing on the fishermen. In
the past the Israeli military has shot and killed unarmed Palestinian
fishermen for trying to fish in their own waters.
Accompanying the fishermen are:
Vittorio Arrigoni, Italy
Georgios Karatzas, Greece
Adam Qvist, Denmark
Andrew Muncie, Scotland
Donna Wallach, USA
Darlene Wallach, USA
PLEASE INFORM THE MEDIA IMMEDIATELY, CALL YOUR EMBASSIES IN TEL AVIV, AND
CALL THE ISRAELI GOVERNMENT. TELL THEM TO STOP FIRING UPON UNARMED
FISHERMEN AND UNARMED HUMAN RIGHTS MONITORS.
CALL:
The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Tel. +972 2 530 3111
The British Embassy in Tel Aviv
+972 3 725 1222
The US Embassy in Tel Aviv
+972 2 625 5755
###
Another Account:
Vittorio Arrigoni's Account of the Israeli Shooting
Date : 09-01-2008
"When at a distance, estimated by our fishing boat’s captain, of 7 nautical miles from the coast, we dropped our fishing nets and started fishing the Israeli warships rushed to reach our position.
One of the warships positioned at a distance less than 200 metres alongside of our fishing boat, opened fire in our direction at least 4 times during the day. It was intimidating fire directed into the water, but some bursts almost touched the hull of our boat. A cannon shot almost reached us. Making attempt of obtaining a radio contact was useless. Soldiers on the Israeli warship ordered, with the use of megaphones, the area evacuation. And after that they were shooting. Sometimes they were shooting before having ordered. Once they shooted to our fishing nets and tried to damaged it sailing directly on them.
Unfortunetely our big mistake was not having with us neither cameras nor video cameras that, together with megaphones to be used exactly like they do, I consider essential for our next fishing missions.
Despite these intimidations the fishing was rich and profitable, we brought ashore quantity of fish ten times bigger than the usual Palestinians fishers standard."
01/09/2008
Vittorio Arrigoni
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