Report: Euro-Mid documents ongoing harassment of Gaza fishermen; calls for international action

7/31/2019 Report: Euro-Mid documents ongoing harassment of Gaza fishermen; calls for international action

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The Board o Directors o the Euro-Mid Observer or

Human Rights expresses its proound thanks to all

those who contributed to this report, particularly:

Amani Senwar

Executive Director

Ihssan Adel

Head o Legal Department

Tareq Abedulazeq

Field investigator

Muhammad Assad

Muhammad Hayek

Photographers

Pamela Bailey

Ramadan Rezeq

Editors/Prooreaders

Abeer Barakat

Head o International Communication

Wase Qadah

Design Director

Chairman

Dr. Ramy S. Abdu


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Executive Summary

In this report, Euro-Mid Observer or Human Rights

documents the ongoing harassment o Gaza sher-

men by the Israeli military, preventing them rom ply-

ing their trade reely and saely even within the arbi-trary three-nautical-mile limit imposed by Israel.

According to the Universal Declaration o Human

Rights and its supporting covenants, every individual

has the right to lie, equality beore the law, reedom

o expression and employment. These rights may be

revoked only in cases o urgent security emergencies,

and even then must be legally and objectively deter-

mined.

However, Euro-Mid and other human rights organi-

zations have observed, and recorded through eye-

witness testimonies, that rom January 2011 through

April 2012, Israeli Authorities deliberately prevented

Gazan shermen rom practicing their proessionreely and saely in their own port. In addition to being


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prevented rom sailing, Palestinian shermen are re-

quently subjected to degrading and inhumane treat-

ment, such as orced immersion while naked in harsh

weather conditions, conscation o their shing boatsand equipment, and arbitrary detentions with gruel-

ing interrogations.

Many Gazan shermen who are reed ollowing deten-

tion report being pressured to provide intelligence

against co-workers and neighbors under threat o

harm to their relatives. Some report being torturedwhen they reuse to collaborate.

This report details these violations o law and human

rights, as well as documents the negative eects on

the shing sector, and thus on the overall Gazan econ-

omy including escalating poverty and unemploy-

ment.

Although Israel announced its unilateral disengage-

ment rom the Gaza Strip in 2005, it was not a total

withdrawal. Rather, it was merely a redeployment o

its troops and military vehicles along its border with

the Strip. This situation is illustrated by Israels total

control over the Gazan shoreline.

Euro-Mid Observer or Human Rights concludes its

report with an appeal to the international communi-

ty and human rights institutions around the world to

take action to restore the right o Palestinian sher-

men in the Gaza Strip to work reely and saely, hold-

ing Israel accountable or violating the international

conventions o which is it is a signatory.


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In addition, Euro-Mid invites international donors to

establish projects capable o empowering the shing

industry in Gaza, thus reducing poverty and unem-

ployment.

Amani Senwar

Executive Director


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Introduction

The right to work reely and saely is a basic human

need o every person. The Universal Declaration o

Human Rights, passed without dissension in 1948,

stipulated in Article 23(1) that everyone has the right

to work, to ree choice o employment, to just and a-

vorable conditions o work and to protection against

unemployment. This principle was conrmed later in

many supporting conventions and agreements.

Field studies o the conditions under which Gazan

shermen are orced to work, including the collec-

tion o many eyewitness testimonies, document that

successive Israeli governments have turned a blind

eye to a number o principles, accords and interna-

tional conventions with their continuing breaches othe right o Palestinian shermen in the Gaza Strip to

earn a living. Palestinian shermen are constantly ha-

rassed by Israeli gunboats, which prevent them rom

practicing their trade in waters that are internation-

ally recognized as sovereign. They oten are shot at

and arbitrarily arrested, and Israeli orces requently

conscate their boats and other personal belongings.

The impact o these atrocities is magnied due to the

high population density o the Gaza Strip, which is

considered one o the most crowded territories in the

world. Given Gazas status as a coastal territory, the

shing industry should be an engine o sel-sucien-

cy and trade. However, that potential is being nipped

in the bud.


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The period between 1967 -1978 was the golden age

o the shing industry in the Gaza Strip. At that time,

the yield o Gazan shermen reached its peak -- ap-

proximately 60 tons o sh every day, since they wereree to sail into the deep water 10-15 miles rom their

shore, where larger sh and sardines thrive. (Interna-

tional law and the 1994 Oslo Accords dictate that Pal-

estinians should be able to sh in their own waters 20

nautical miles rom their shore.) This, however, came

to an end when the Israeli authorities began using mil-

itary orce to curtail maritime activity, rst imposinga 12-nautical-mile limit in 2002, reducing it to six in

2006 and three in 2009. Thus, the Israeli withdrawal

o its settlers rom Gaza in 2005 was actually not the

disengagement the government labeled it.

The Israeli governments stated justication was to put

a halt to arms smuggling, but the impact has insteadbeen destruction o an industry that once provided

a necessary source o protein and employed about

45,000 Palestinians. In 2011, the cumulative catch was

only 500 tons and the number o employed shermen

was an estimated 4,400 90% o whom are classied

as poor or very poor by the International Committee

o the Red Cross. Yet, they must support more than

70,000 relatives.

In return or trying to make a living to support their

amilies, Israeli gunboats requently attack Gazan

shermen when they venture beyond three miles rom

the port. For instance, the Israeli navy detained more

than 70 shermen during 2007 under this pretext.


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Legal Status o the MediterraneanWaters and the Right to Fish

This report documents the legal status o the eastern

shore o the Mediterranean Sea, known locally as the

Gaza Shore, as set out in relevant United Nations con-

ventions.

Gazan Territorial Waters and Israeli Control

The eastern coastline o the Mediterranean is consid-

ered an integral part o the Gaza Strip according to

international law.

As stipulated by the second article o the United Na-

tions Convention on the Law o the Sea:

The sovereignty o a coastal state extends beyond its

land territory and internal waters to an adjacent belt

o sea.

The third article o the same convention states:

Every state has the right to establish the breadth o

its territorial sea up to a limit not exceeding 12 nauti-

cal miles.

Thereore, most o the 120 coastal nations claim sov-

ereignty over waters extending or 12 nautical miles

rom their shores.

This sovereignty normally extends to the air space

over the territorial sea as well as to its bed and sub-soil. A coastal state is, thereore, entitled to limit ac-


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cess to its territorial sea and the sh that populated it

the countrys residents.

The legal status o the Gaza shore was delineated inthe agreements between the Israeli government and

the PLO executed as part o the Oslo Accords. The

40-km Gaza shore was divided into three zones:

Zone M, extending 20 nautical miles rom the Gaza

Shore in the south, with a width o one nautical mile

rom the Egyptian territorial waters.

Zone K, extending up to 20 nautical miles rom theGaza Shore in the north, with a width o 1.5 nautical

miles to the south.

The Israeli government and the PLO agreed that both

the M and K zones would be closed to all activity ex-cept those o the Israeli navy.

Zone L, which lies between the two other zones and

is open to Palestinian shermen with permits rom the

Palestinian Authority, up to 20 nautical miles out. Ac-

tivities related to recreation and other economic en-

terprises also are permitted in this zone.

Despite these agreements, activity by Palestinians in

Zone L was limited by Israeli authorities to 12 nautical

miles shortly ater eruption o the Second Intiada. It

was reduced again to six miles ater the abduction o

the Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit. Fishing in Gazan wa-

ters was completely orbidden when Israel launched

Operation Cast Lead in 2008. At the end o the war


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On Gaza, Palestinian shermen were permitted in the

waters again, but this time, only up to three nautical

miles well short o the richest shoals o sh 10 nauti-

cal miles out.

At the same time, Israeli authorities extended the area

o the no-go zones (M & K), with the intent o urther

narrowing the permissible zone (L), in clear violation

o Article 11 o the Oslo Accords.

The conventions o the UN Security Council -- particu-larly 242, 338, 1397 and 1515 -- all state that the oc-

cupied Palestinian territories include the West Bank,

East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip, within the 1967

borders. According to international law and conven-

tions, this sovereignty should extend to both interior

waters (lakes and rivers) and the sea, up to 20 nauti-

cal miles rom the shore a reedom acknowledged inthe Oslo agreements. These provisions allow Palestin-

ians to control their own territorial seas, and thus sh-

ing, sailing and shipping.

However, Israel has instead unilaterally and illegally

placed a chain o yellow buoys just three miles out

rom the Gaza shore, with the apparent goal o insti-

tutionalizing its illegal restrictions. Under the provi-

sions o the Hague conventions, a territory is consid-

ered occupied when it is actually placed under the

authority o the hostile army. Since it cannot control

its own industries, including the use o its waters, the

Gaza Strip is clearly still an occupied territory.

The commission that was created by the General As-


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sembly o the United Nations in 2011 to investigate Is-

raeli practices against the Palestinians human rights

concluded in its third and ourth report that the Is-

raeli siege imposed on Gaza turns a blind eye to sev-eral aspects o Gazans lie, such as education, health,

housing, employment and human development. Fur-

ther, it stressed that Israels oppressive policies are a

orm o collective punishment o civilians. The com-

mission called on Israel to change its policies in a way

that conorms with the signed the Oslo Accords, i.e

extending the permissible zone back to 20 nauticalmiles (paragraph 75).

Likewise, the report o the UN Gaza Fact Finding Mis-

sion on the Gaza Confict, commonly known as the

Goldstone report, stated that the continuing Israeli in-

ringement into the Palestinian territorial waters has

worsened the Gazan economy via limiting the shingzone.


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Illegal Israeli Practices

Israeli policies and practices violate a number o inter-

national conventions and treaties to which Israel is a

signatory.

In addition to its restrictions on sea trafc, Israel en-

orces a number o policies against the Palestinians

right to live and work with dignity. The serious harass-

ment that Palestinian shermen endured during the

period covered in this report (January 2011-April 2012)constitutes war crimes as dened in the conventions o

international human rights law, particularly the Fourth

Geneva Convention. The Israeli harassment against

Palestinian shermen is clearly a orm o collective

punishment that thwarts civilians rom making a living,

while humiliating them in ront o their amilies.

Israeli harassment violates a number o international

laws and conventions:

Right o Palestinian Fishermen to Work and Beneft

rom Sea Resources

International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cul-

tural Rights (Article 1.2 and 6.1): All peoples may, or

their own ends, reely dispose o their natural wealth

and resources without prejudice to any obligations

arising out o international economic cooperation,

based upon the principle o mutual benet, and inter-

national law. In no case may a people be deprived o

its own means o subsistence.The states that are


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parties to the present Covenant recognize the right

to work, which includes the right o everyone to the

opportunity to gain his living by work which he reely

chooses or accepts, and will take appropriate steps tosaeguard this right.

Universal Declaration o Human Rights (Article 23.1):

Everyone has the right to work, to ree choice o em-

ployment, to just and avorable conditions o work

and to protection against unemployment.

Fourth Geneva Convention (Article 52): All measures

aiming at creating unemployment and restricting the

opportunities oered to workers in an occupied terri-

tory, in order to induce them to work or the Occupy-

ing Power, are prohibited.

Universal Declaration on Social Progress and Devel-opment (Article 6): Social development requires the

assurance to everyone o the right to work and the

ree choice o employment. Article 10 cites the im-

portance o The assurance at all levels o the right to

work and the right o everyone to orm trade unions

and workers associations and to bargain collectively;

promotion o ull productive employment and elimi-

nation o unemployment and under-employment; es-

tablishment o equitable and avorable conditions o

work or all, including the improvement o health and

saety conditions.

Right to Lie, Liberty and Security o Person

Universal Declaration or Human Rights (Article 3):


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Everyone has the right to lie, liberty and security o

person.

International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights(Article 6): Every human being has the inherent right

to lie. This right shall be protected by law. No one

shall be arbitrarily deprived o his lie.

European Convention on Human Rights (Article 5):

Everyone has the right to liberty and security o per-

son. No one shall be deprived o his liberty

Charter o Fundamental Rights o the European Union:

Everyone has the right to liberty and security o person.

Protection rom Arbitrary Arrest

Universal Declaration o Human Rights (Article 9) andthe Fourth Geneva Convention (Article 42): No one

shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention or exile.

International Covenant on Civil and Political Right (Ar-

ticle 9): Everyone has the right to liberty and security

o person. No one shall be subjected to arbitrary ar-

rest or detention. No one shall be deprived o his lib-

erty except on such grounds and in accordance with

such procedure as are established by law.

Protection o Personal Property

Universal Declaration or Human Rights (Article 17.2):

No one shall be arbitrarily deprived o his property.

Fourth Geneva Convention (Article 53): Any destruc-


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tion by the Occupying Power o real or personal prop-

erty belonging individually or collectively to private

persons, or to the State, or to other public authorities,

or to social or cooperative organizations, is prohib-ited, except where such destruction is rendered abso-

lutely necessary by military operations.

Thus, international human rights law dictates that the

right o Palestinians to work reely and saely, ree rom

ear o arbitrary arrest and conscation o personal

property, must be guaranteed by Israel as an occupyingpower. Without the preservation o these rights, other

basic human needs protected by the International Cov-

enant on Economic Social and Cultural Rights -- includ-

ing the right o everyone to an adequate standard o

living (Article 11) and the right o protection and as-

sistance o the amily (Article 10) cannot be met.


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Supporting Statistics,Incident Reports and Testimony

Euro-Mid collected a number o incidents and testi-

monies documenting Israeli violations between Janu-

ary 2011 and the end o April 2012.

Statistics

In the past 16 months, there has been a signicant

increase in Israeli violations o the human rights o

Palestinian shermen. Euro-Mid has documented ap-

proximately 150 such incidents rom Jan. 1, 2011 to

April 30, 2012. The violations included injuries, deten-

tions, shootings, conscation o boats and intentional

damage to shing equipment.

During this period, 58 incidents were documented inwhich Israeli gunboats shot at Palestinian shermen.

The Israeli navy detained approximately 60 shermen,

including 9 children, and 12 were injured by machine

gun re rom Israeli gunboats. The Israeli navy seized

more than 13 shing boats, and intentionally damaged

shing nets and other equipment.

Even when no physical damage occurs, the emotional

impact is just as destructive. The Israeli military uses

water hoses to sink Palestinian shermens boats,

phosphorus lights to disperse sh shoals and stun

grenades to simply terriy.

The tactics used by the Israeli government to containPalestinian shermen in Gaza all into these categories:


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Limiting the Permissible Fishing Zone without Issu-

ing a Formal Statement:

A no-go zone was imposed on the Gaza territorialwaters as ar back as 2002. However, in 2009, in the

atermath o Operation Cast Lead, the Israeli govern-

ment reduced it still urther to three nautical. Pales-

tinians were not inormed o this sudden change

that is, until fshermen became the subject o Israeli

target practice.

Laying Down a Line o Buoys in the Gazan Waters

The Israeli navy, ramping up the psychological harass-

ment, recently laid down a line o giant red buoys at

the three-mile mark. Israel warned Palestinians against

crossing the line by distributing leafets threatening to

shoot, detain and conscate the boat and equipmento any sherman who crosses that limit.

Damaging and Confscating Fishing Equipment with-

out Giving Compensations:

When engines, shing nets or entire boats are con-

scated, they oten cannot be replaced due to the

blockade imposed by Israel on many imports. Thus,

many Gazan shermen have been orced to abandon

their trade, while others scrape by using old, aban-

doned equipment.


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Incidents & Testimony

TestimonyMahmoud M. Murad, 27-year-old Gazan sherman:

On Sunday morning (Dec. 8 8, 2011), I went shing within

the three nautical mile limit. At 10 (a.m.), an Israeli gun-

boat neared, started ring at our boat and ordered us

to stop. Immediately, we stopped. Then, an Israeli Navy

commander ordered us on his megaphone to strip na-

ked, jump into the waters and swim over to the gunboat.

I was with a kinsman o mine named Hussan. He jumped

into the water and swam over to them without hesita-

tion; however I could not because I suer rom a chronic

kidney disease. The Israelis shot my let leg with a rub-

ber bullet and I ell down. Then, the gunboat advanced

towards me, and the Israelis (boarded my boat and) de-tained me and took me to (the Israeli port o Ashdod).

My wounded let leg was treated at Tel Hashom-


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er Hospital. The physicians put a cast on my leg and

said it needed surgery. I asked them to treat my other

knee, which was swollen, but they reused. On the 21sto December (2011), I was released and was orced to

walk through Erez crossing 3 km -- with my two in-

jured legs in order to reach the Palestinian side. When

I nally reached the other side, the Palestinian orces

aided me and brought me a car that took me home.

I was without my boat, cellphone and shing equip-

ment. The Israeli navy conscated them. When I asked

or my belongings back, telling them how badly I need-

ed them to do my work, Israeli intelligence ocers

told me by phone that I had to consult an advocate.

But he didnt because o his Poor nancial conditions.

Muhammed K. Abu Omeera, 19 years old, detained on

Jan. 11, 2011, along with his brother, 17, and two riends


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(15 and 16) while shing on a private boat within the

three-mile zone. This is the testimony o Muhammeds

ather:

On that Tuesday morning, my sons Muhmmed and

Mahmoud were on board along with the other two chil-

dren, Saher and Osama. Then, a gunboat came near

and started shooting at them so heavily that it dam-

aged their engine. Their boat immediately stopped

moving, so the Israeli gunboat advanced closer to-

wards my sons and ordered them to strip naked andjump into the waters in the cold weather. They did and

were taken to Ashdod port and interrogated. They

were asked to provide intelligence in return or being

released. I they didnt provide inormation (on their

riends and amily), they were told their home would

be demolished and I would be assassinated. However,

they reused to be blackmailed.

The boys were released, but the Israeli navy cons-

cated their boat and shing equipment.

Incidents

In the16 months between January 2011 and the endo April 2012, Euro-Mid Observer or Human Rights

documented approximately 150 breaches o the sh-

ermens rights. These include:


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Breach Type Number Examples

Detention

while fshing( all within 3 miles)

60 - 29-4-2012: Ashra, Ahmed,Amjad Ismael Al Shura

and Yasser and Muhammed

AlShura in ront o GazaCity Beach.

- 24-4-2012: Nader Yusu

Abu Samaan and his young

brother, Hassan in ront o Al

Sudaneya Beach.

- 15-4-2012: Salah Meqdad, his

son Ahmed, and Ali Al Akh-sham.

- 14-2-2012: Jamal Sultan and

his son Fadel in ront o Beit

Lahia Beach.

- 7-1-2012: Rani, Tariq, Jad,

Mahmoud Baker.

- 18-12-2011: Hassan and Mah-

moud Murad, and Emad and

the younger Anas Syman.

- 29-11-2011: Khalid Abu Sher,

Raed, Osama, Nehad, Mu-

hammed and Jamal Alhesi;

Adham Alhabeel, Saleem andMoamen Alsadeq; and Ramy

Faraj Abu Auda.


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Injuries 12 - 1-1-2012: 4 shermen shot byIsraeli gunboats in north-

ern Gaza.

- 15-8-2011: Yaseen Zayed shot

with live ammunition while

on board his boat in northern

Gaza.

- 16-12-2011: Zaki Froosh shot

with bullets and parts o

shells opposite o the Suda-

nia shore.

Confsca-

tions o boats

& equipment

13 - 29,24,15-4-2012: Boats andshing equipment.

- 14-2-2012: 2 boats, 10 shing

nets and a canoe.

- 7-1-2012: 1 boat.

- 18-12-2011: 2 boats and shing

nets.

- 29-11-2011: 2 boats.

Damage to

engines and

equipment

7 - 14-4-2012: Partial damage oboat engine.

- 13-4-2012: Destruction o

boat engine.

-14-2-2012: Destruction oshing canoe.

- 21-6-2011: Destruction o 2

boats and 2 engines.

Firing 58 - 2012: 14 incidents; 9 in Aprilalone.

- 2011: 44 incidents.


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Conclusion

This report o Euro-Mid Observer or Human Rightsdocuments the Israeli violations o Palestinian

shermens rights in the Gaza Strip. Although Is-

rael unilaterally announced its disengagement

rom the Gaza Strip in 2005, it continues to main-

tain exclusive control over the Gaza shore by lim-

iting the permissible shing zone, in contraven-

tion o international conventions and agreements.

It is clear that Israels withdrawal o settlers was a

mere propaganda ploy designed to mislead the inter-

national community, paving the way or Israel to dis-

tance itsel rom its legal responsibilities as an occu-

pying power, while its orces violate the rights o and

commit atrocities against the Gazan population.

This report also documents that Israel violates the

right o Palestinian shermen to exercise their trade

reely and saely, through physical attacks, detentions

and conscation o their boats and equipment. The

incidents and testimony outlined in this report show

that Israeli practices have a serious impact on the sh-

ing industry, and meet the criteria in international lawor arbitrary and collective punishment.

The United Nations and other relevant institutions must

pressure Israel to abide by the conventions o interna-

tional human rights law and the agreements signed by

the Israeli authorities and the Palestinian Authority. This

must include permitting Palestinian shermen to sailand sh reely and saely within their territorial waters.


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I Israel claims the right to protect itsel by imposing

restrictions on the movement o Palestinian sher-

men, such restrictions should be or urgent, specicand legal security needs or a specic period o time.

When violations by Israel occur, it must be held to

account including return o conscated equipment

and compensation o shermen or their losses.

Euro-Mid also appeals to donor countries to help de-velop the shing industry in the Gaza Strip to counter-

act the impact o poverty and unemployment.

Finally, the Euro-Mid Observer or Human Rights calls

on international governments and other bodies to de-

mand that Israel lit its siege on the poverty-strickenenclave o Gaza, and to guarantee the implementa-

tion o the Fourth Geneva Conventions o 1949 so that

the borders will immediately and permanently open

to people and goods.


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Report: Euro-Mid documents ongoing harassment of Gaza fishermen; calls for international action

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