Fishermen At Risk As Israel Hits Arms Smuggling

Israeli navy spokesmen were not immediately able to comment.

Like several thousand other fishermen working from ports in the blockaded Gaza Strip, the young man in his 20s has to negotiate Israeli gunships patrolling the coast to stop arms getting into the Palestinian coastal enclave.

"They fired on this hasaka (small boat with motor) just two hours ago," he said, pointing to bullet holes in its side. "This was only 500 metres out."

Gaza fishermen say the distance from the coast where they are free to operate has diminished over the years, from 20 nautical miles (37 km) when the Palestinian Authority was set up in 1993 to 3 miles (5.6 km) since the Gaza war last month.

Israeli navy spokesmen were not immediately able to comment.

On Dec. 27, Israel launched a 22-day land, air and sea assault on the territory of 1.5 million people with the aim of stopping rocket fire by militants. Israel imposed a Gaza blockade in 2007 after the Islamist group Hamas took control.

Hissi offers a tour of his trawler. The steering cabin is peppered with bullet holes from when he says he fished at the three-mile perimeter four days ago. "Thank God no one was harmed," he said.

Fishermen at the Gaza harbour said they have been regularly fired upon by Israel as a warning to stay close to shore since the Palestinian uprising launched in 2000. They say the aim is to ruin the Palestinian economy.

"They shoot to your side, at the hasaka, and if you get stubborn and pull the net in with a catch they shoot at the motor," said Abu Khamis, who has been fishing in these waters for 35 years. "We're always in a battle with Israeli gunboats."

Israel also has targeted tunnels along Gaza's border with Egypt to the south, where arms as well as food and other daily materials have entered the area in a flourishing industry.

Egypt has said most of the arms smuggling takes place by sea, with Palestinian divers bringing in bundles of supplies dropped by ships off the Gazan coast.

"The smuggling happens through tunnels from Egypt. It doesn't happen by sea," Hissi said.

Fishermen say the reduction in the coastal waters where they can fish has allowed their Israeli and Egyptian counterparts access to the best hunting grounds, leaving them slim pickings.

"I used to go into Israel to work, but with the blockade now I come here to get fish for us to eat," said an elderly man who declined to give his name.

He pointed to a few modestly-sized fish wriggling about in a plastic container. "They fish the outer areas so there's not much left for us here," he said.