CPSG accompanying Gazan fishermen on 28 September 2011.
Today, the Oliva, a monitoring boat manned by the Civil Peace Service Gaza project, accompanied three hasaka boats (the size of small rowboats) and one trawler as they attempted to fish. The Israeli naval boats relentlessly pursued the Oliva, until the crew decided to retreat back to shore only three hours after they launched. The Oliva’s previous engine was destroyed by the Israeli navy in July and replacing the engine again is not an option given financial limitations.
The permissible fishing area has been reduced from twenty nautical miles under the 1994 Jericho-Gaza addendum of Oslo to twelve under the 2005 Bertini commitments, enforced at six nm and since Operation Cast Lead, the fishing limit is three nautical miles. (This doesn’t include the times in which Israel violently prevented boats from sailing at all after the government takeover by Hamas and during Cast Lead itself.)
But Israel doesn’t just blockade the Strip by air, land and sea. Deliberate and violent actions are taken to prevent Palestinians from farming in the arable ‘buffer zone’ and fishing in Gazan territorial waters, even within the imposed three nautical mile limit. International activists are therefore inclined to look for ways to raise awareness of these issues and use their presence as a deterrent to the violence. This has backfired in the past, not just for the volunteers but for Gazans as well.
In November 2008, Israel arrested and later deported three International Solidarity Movement (ISM) activists (including Vittorio Arrigoni) for accompanying fishermen. The navy also arrested the fifteen Palestinian fishermen aboard and confiscated their only source of livelihood, their three boats. After significant legal and media efforts, the Palestinians and their boats were released (albeit damaged by the captors). Only one month later, Israel bombed the port during Cast Lead and destroyed the boats ISM had spent days working to retrieve.
The ISM ceased to accompany the fishermen following the November incident worried that their presence would have a negative effect and the fishermen continued to be harassed, arrested and fired upon. The launch of CPSG in April was the embodiment of a renewed belief in the idea that challenging the Israeli siege from inside Gaza is not impossible and that international attention can mitigate Israeli violence. Several human rights organizations have thrown their money and efforts into this hope; that the Oliva will document the Israeli violations of international law and Palestinian rights and that the world will care.
Only time will tell if this project is successful, but the Oliva will continue to sail, document Israeli aggression and provide support and solidarity for Gazan fishermen.
Sasha Gelzin is the media coordinator for Civil Peace Service Gaza and resides in Washington D.C.
Gaza fishermen have no rights in Erez Israel.
It is up to the Jewish Diaspora to change this situation.
The cruel vindictiveness of Israel is beyond comprehension. How does Israel profit from preventing people feeding themselves? In no way at all, other than in taking pleasure in denying Palestinians the most basic human rights. I hope they are proud of their most immoral army in the world. Sadistic little bullies.
The unwarranted interference in the Palestinian economy, as well as the theft of resources, the whole occupation overall, deprives the Palestinians of about 85% of their nominal GDP, approx £4.4bn per year according to a new report:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/sep/29/israeli-occupation-hits-palestinian-economy
this is what ‘terrorist state’ countries do… israel is a terrorist state..
It is not only the Gaza fishermen’s who are under attack nowadays….
After Turkeys rupture with israel..
Americian zionists/neocons have started (attack) their campaign to demonize Turkey (a NATO ally and OECD member) in the eyes of the western world (notably Canada, USA and Australia).
The problem is that Turkey has an open society with many links to ”western world” and a democratic government. Besides that, more than 30 million tourists visit Turkey every year. There are more western tourists in some cities/villages of Turkey than there are natives of that particular of village. So it isn’t so easy to demonize Turkey as with Iran.
Just 3 of the many articles about Turkey:
– Daniel Pipes: Is Turkey going rogue?
Turkey may be, along with Iran, the most dangerous state of the region.
http://fullcomment.nationalpost.com/2011/09/27/daniel-pipes-is-turkey-going-rogue/
– Michael Rubin: Why Is Obama Giving Predators to Turkey?
Over the last year, Turkey has sided with Iran……… and made anti-American rhetoric a staple of the Turkish ruling party’s proxy press etc.
http://blog.american.com/2011/09/why-is-obama-giving-predators-to-turkey/
– Jonathan Tobin: Turkey Responsible for Iraq Insurgency?
His primary assertions are that Prime Minister Netanyahu can do no wrong and that Turkey set on a path to downgrade its relations with Israel far earlier than the Gaza flotilla dispute. That Turkey was somehow responsible for Iraq’s insurgency bu not letting Bush junior invade Iraq from the north.
http://www.commentarymagazine.com/2011/09/04/turkey-israel-erdogan-us/
http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2011/09/turkey-responsible-for-iraq-insurgency/244524/
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These articles aren’t posted on only one news website but many more.
If one copies the titles and pastes on Google will see the article of Mr. pipes in the Australian (Australia), the National review (Canada) and in the Washington Times (USA) and many more.
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In 2003, Pipes was awarded an honorary doctorate from Yeshiva University (Israel). In May 2006, Pipes received the Guardian of Zion Award by Ingeborg Rennert Center for Jerusalem Studies at Bar-Ilan University in Israel.
Michael Rubin is a resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute. He has lectured in history at Yale University, Hebrew University
Tobin was editor in chief of the Jewish Exponent in Philadelphia. His columns have regularly appeared in the Jerusalem Post and many other newspapers.