At app.
2am on 19 March 2007, four Israeli military boats blocked and rounded 14 Palestinian fishing boats and forced to sail deep in sea.
The Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) tied the boats and forced the fishermen to jump in the water and swim individually towards the military ships.
Orders were given to fishermen by mega phones.
IOF arrested 56 Palestinian fishermen in this operation.
It should be mentioned that IOF's violations against Palestinian fishermen have intensified since 9 October 2000 following the closure of the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT).
Since then, Palestinian fishermen have been prevented to work into allocated the areas of 20 nautical miles in Gaza's sea.
IOF imposed zones of 12 miles, which then dropped to 6 miles.
According to Al Mezan's information, IOF do not allow Palestinian fishermen to work farther than more than 3 nautical miles.
This applies to those times when IOF allow them to work in the first place.
Al Mezan strongly condemns the humiliating procedures imposed by the IOF on Palestinian fishermen; which only degrade them and deprive them from doing their living.
This is more serious under the deterioration of the living conditions and increase of poverty and unemployment in the Gaza Strip.
The Center views such conducts as grave breaches of International Humanitarian Law(IHL), as they inflict collective punishment on Palestinian civilians throughout the imposed siege and their indispensible sources of living.
Al Mezan also views the release 50 fishermen, out of 56 detained, on the same day as evidence of the IOF's arbitrary detention and treatment of fishermen.
No charges have been brought before any of them.
Al Mezan calls upon the international community, especially the High Contracting Parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention Relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War, to intervene to put and end to the Israeli violations of human rights and the IHL ad to provide protection for civilians in OPT.
End