Israeli naval forces on Tuesday morning stole a Palestinian fishing boat during its presence off the coast of Rafah area south of the besieged Gaza Strip.
Head of the fishermen syndicate Nizar Ayyash said the fishing boat was near the shores of Rafah when an Israeli gunboat seized it adding that the boat had been used by fishermen for navigational and lighting purposes at nighttime.
Ayyash added that this boat belonged to fishermen from Rafah and its confiscation would obstruct their work during night hours.
Israeli naval forces and their gunboats are around Gaza fishermen almost every day harassing them shooting at them damaging or seizing their boats and making arrests. Sometimes fishermen are injured or killed during gunfire attacks.
Under the 1993 Oslo accords Palestinian fishermen are permitted to fish up to 20 nautical miles off the coast of Gaza but since then Israel has kept reducing the fishing area gradually to a limit between six to three nautical miles as part of its blockade on Gaza.
Fishermen and human rights groups also say that since the 2008-09 war in Gaza the Israeli occupation army has been regularly enforcing a limit even closer to the shore.
