Israeli Troops Open Fire on Farmers, Fishermen in Gaza
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Israeli forces opened fire at Palestinian farmers working in their lands in different locations in the Gaza Strip, while the Israeli navy troops targeted fishermen off the coast of the enclave.
Local sources reported that Israeli naval forces on Sunday opened heavy fire at fishing boats sailing off northern Gaza shores, the Palestinian Information Center reported.
Israeli troops also opened fire towards Palestinian farmers and shepherds who were working in their lands near the border in the middle and southern areas of the Gaza Strip, the sources added.
In recent years, Israeli forces have carried out more than a hundred attacks on Palestinian boats, arresting dozens of fishermen and confiscating some of the vessels.
Palestinians have held weekly protests near the Gaza fence over the siege on the enclave and the right for refugees to return to their homes they were forcibly expelled from during the 1948 creation of Israel.
More than 260 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces ever since anti-occupation protest rallies began in the Gaza Strip on March 30. Over 26,000 Palestinians have also sustained injuries.
The Gaza clashes reached their peak on May 14 last year, on the eve of the 70th anniversary of the Nakba Day (Day of Catastrophe), which coincided this year with the US embassy relocation from Tel Aviv to occupied East Jerusalem (al-Quds).
The Gaza Strip has been under an Israeli blockade since June 2007. The blockade has caused a decline in the standard of living as well as unprecedented levels of unemployment and unrelenting poverty.
Israel carries out regular attacks on Palestinians in Gaza under the pretext of hitting Hamas targets. It has also launched several wars on the enclave, the last of which began in early July 2014 and ended in late August the same year. The Israeli military aggression killed nearly 2,200 Palestinians and injured over 11,100 others.