The Israeli navy gunboats fired heavy machinegun fire at Palestinian fishing boats off the coast of the northern Gaza Strip on Saturday.
The intensified firing by the navy boats forced the fishermen to return ashore according to local sources.
Some four thousand fishermen work in the Strip who support more than 50 thousand individuals according to the Palestinian Fishermen Union.
However the profession witnessed unprecedented decline in recent years due to the Israeli constant harassment and restrictions.
The Oslo Agreement between the PLO and Israel signed on 13 September 1993 provides that fishermen are allowed to sail 20 nautical miles off the Gaza Strip’s shores but Israel has reduced it to only 6 nautical miles sometimes completely preventing it.
