GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — Israeli gunboats opened fire on Palestinian fishing boats near al-Sudaniya, northwest of the Gaza Strip, the Union of Agricultural Work Committees (UAWC) said Nov. 23. The boats were within the allowed fishing area, according to the union, but Israel changes the zones erratically and sometimes with no warning.
On Nov. 19, Israel informed Palestinian authorities that sardine fishing boats were allowed access up to 15 nautical miles from the Zahra area in central Gaza Strip to Rafah in the south. But Israel banned the use of smaller motorboats, which are essential to catch sardines. Zakaria Bakr, head of the UAWC Fishermen Committees, told Al-Monitor these small boats are used to lure sardines to the water surface by lamplight and into the fishermen's nets.
Fishermen consider this decision an Israeli attempt to present itself as committing to an Egyptian-brokered truce without actually doing so.
Israeli authorities had reduced the fishing zone to 3 nautical miles (5.56 kilometers) and announced Nov. 12 a full naval closure on the Gaza Strip. On Nov. 15, they again allowed fishermen access to the zone, up to 6 nautical miles (11.1 kilometers) from the northern Gaza Strip to the port of Gaza, gradually increasing up to 15 nautical miles (27.8 kilometers) from the Rafah port in the south.
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