Israeli naval forces opened live fire at Palestinian fishing boats of the coast of Gaza city on Friday, before detaining two Palestinian fishermen and confiscating their boat, According to Palestinian media.
The Israeli navy arrested the two fishermen Muhammad and Mahmoud al-Saidi and confiscated their boat before they dragged them to an unknown destination.
Head of the fishermen union Zakariya Bakr said that Israeli naval forces opened fire at the fishermen off the coast of Gaza city before confiscating their boat.
Israeli forces also detained two fisherman who were on board and transferred them to an unidentified location.
Bakr identified the fishermen as Mahmoud Said al-Saidi and Muhammad Awwad al-Saidi.
An Israeli army spokesperson said she would look into reports on the incident.
Israeli military incursions inside the besieged Gaza Strip and near the “buffer zone” which lies on both land and sea sides of Gaza, have long been a near-daily occurrence.
Palestinians who work near the “buffer zone” between the Palestinian enclave and Israel often come under fire from military forces, as the Israeli military has not made clear the precise area of the designated zone.
The Israeli army regularly open fires on Palestinian fishermen and farmers along the border areas, despite a ceasefire agreement that ended the 2014 war.
The practice has in effect destroyed much of the agricultural and fishing sectors of the blockaded coastal enclave.
Israeli forces also regularly detain Palestinian fisherman off the coast of Gaza working within the fishing zone, generally for alleged security reasons.
According to the Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR), Israeli forces detained 71 fishermen and confiscated 22 fishing boats throughout 2015.
The center said that Israeli naval forces also opened fire on Palestinian fishermen at least 139 times over the course of the year, wounding 24 and damaging 16 fishing boats.
“These attacks occurred in a time where the fishers did not pose any threat to the Israeli naval troops, as they were doing their job to secure a living,” PCHR said.
