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Support Gaza's Fishermen
11-20-2008
1. A Plea for Funds
2. Fifteen Palestinian fishermen
released
3. Fifteen Palestinian
fishermen still being held by Israeli authorities, three
internationals fighting deportation with at least one
engaging in a hunger-strike 5. The Daily Star: UN rights chief
implores Israel to lift illegal siege of Gaza
Strip -------------------- 1. A Plea for Funds -
Please distribute widely On Tuesday 18th November,
the Israeli Navy forcibly abducted 15 unarmed Palestinian
fishermen and three International Human Rights Observers
from the waters 7 miles off the Gaza coast. Although the
fishermen were well within their rights to fish in their own
waters, the Israeli Navy boarded and confiscated their
boats, and illegally detained all of the civilians in
Israel. Under tremendous pressure, the Israeli government
released the 15 fishermen, but are so far refusing to return
the most precious possessions these men own - their
boats. The three Human Rights Observers, Andrew Muncie of
Scotland, Darlene Wallach of the U.S., and Vik Arrigoni of
Italy are currently in prison awaiting court dates. They are
challenging their illegal detention and insisting that
Israel release them back to Gaza. The International
Solidarity Movement and the Free Gaza Movement are asking
for funds to help pay our attorneys;
1. To get the
boats released from Israel's grasp, or for them to pursue
compensation to the fishermen for their loss; 2. To
represent the three internationals in court; 3. For
representation of the fishermen. If you can help provide
funds for these vital causes please consider these options
for donation: 1. Donating via PayPal on the ISM website
(http:// www.palsolidarity.org/main/) 2. Transferring
money directly into the ISM Palestine bank account; ARAB
BANK P.L.C RAMALLAH AL_BALAD BR PALESTINE SWIFT CODE;
ARABPS22090 ACCOUNT #673589 3. If you wish to make a
tax-deductible donation, please make your checks of $50 or
more to 'NorCalISM' and put in the subject line ATTORNEY
FEES. Send to: International Solidarity Movement 405 Vista
Heights Rd. El Cerrito, CA 94530 When making a donation
for these attorney fees please email palreports@gmail.com
with the amount being donated and confirmation that the
donation is for this purpose. We will make sure this money
goes directly to the attorneys representing the Palestinian
fishermen and the internationals. In Solidarity, ISM
Palestine ----------------- 2. Fifteen Palestinian
fishermen released 19th November Update: The
fifteen Palestinian fishermen who were abducted from
Palestinian waters by the Israeli navy on the 18th November
have been released. Their boats, however, have yet to be
returned. The three internationals who were also taken by
the Israeli navy are still being held in Ben Gurion
detention facility. All three face deportation despite
entering Gaza from international waters and not leaving
Palestinian waters with the fishermen. At no point, before
they were transported by the Israeli navy into Israel, did
the internationals enter internationally recognised Israeli
waters. The lawyer representing the international human
rights observers has been told that she can have access to
them on Wednesday
morning. ----------------- 3. Fifteen Palestinian
fishermen still being held by Israeli authorities, three
internationals fighting deportation with at least one
engaging in a hunger-strike The fifteen
Palestinian fishermen abducted from Palestinian waters this
morning (10am 18th November) are still being held by Israeli
authorities in Ashdod, while their boats have been
confiscated. Legal proceedings were initiated today that
petition for their immediate release. The three
international Human Rights Observers who were arrested while
accompanying the fishermen have been taken to Ben Gurion
detention facility as Israeli authorities starting
deportation proceedings. Andrew Muncie, a British citizen
who was one of the three internationals arrested has made it
clear that he will non-violently resist any attempt to
deport him and that he is engaging a hunger- strike until
all fifteen of the Palestinian fishermen are released. The
status and plans of the other two international Human Rights
Observers arrested, American citizen Darlene Wallach and
Italian citizen Vittorio Arrigoni, are not yet known. This
action comes after international journalists have been
denied access into Gaza due to the current
siege. ---------------- 4. Fifteen Palestinian
fishermen and three internationals abducted from Palestinian
waters off the coast of Gaza Gaza City, 10 a.m.-
Fifteen Palestinian fishermen and 3 international Human
Rights Observers (HRO’s) were surrounded by the Israeli
Navy and taken from their boats 7 miles off the coast of
Deir al Balah, Gaza Strip. The fishermen and the HRO’s
were transferred from 3 separate boats to the Israeli
warships. Other Palestinian fishermen reported that the 3
boats were seen being taken north by the Israeli Navy. The
Human Rights Observers are Andrew Muncie, a Scottish British
citizen, Vittorio Arrigoni, an Italian citizen, and Darlene
Wallach, an American citizen. They have been volunteering
with the International Solidarity Movement (ISM) since they
entered Gaza on ships with the first Free Gaza Movement
voyage on the 23rd August 2008. All internationals have
previous experience working with the ISM in the West
Bank. Fellow activists have been unable to establish
contact with the HRO’s or with the fishermen since they
were abducted. Since their arrival, the ISM volunteers
have been regularly accompanying Palestinian fishermen who
are regularly attacked by Israeli navy vessels from as
little as 3km from shore. They have regularly filmed Israeli
forces using live ammunition, shells and water cannons
against unarmed fishermen. When confronted by the Israeli
Navy, the boats were 7 nautical miles from the shore of Deir
al Balah, well within the fishing limit detailed in the Oslo
Accords of 1994. With regular claims that from the Israeli
government that it has ‘disengaged’ from Gaza, these
patrols and attacks from the Israeli navy, regularly
occuring from as little as 3 miles from shore, represent a
clear signal of the continuation of occupation of Gazan
territory as well as regular breaches of the current
cease-fire. Over 40,000 people in Gaza make a living from
the fishing industry, yet this community has been decimated
by Israeli restrictions on fishing rights and the prevention
of fuel from reaching the Gaza Strip. According to the
Fishing Syndicate in Gaza, fishermen need 40,000 litres of
fuel and 40,000 litres of natural gas each day to operate
throughout the high fishing season. Starting in April each
year, there is a migration of fish from the Nile Delta to
Turkish waters which Palestinian fishermen have
traditionally relied upon. Yet Israel limits fishing 6 miles
from the Gaza shore and regularly attacks those who venture
further than 3 miles - over 70 fishermen were arrested last
year by the Israeli forces. The large schools that form the
migration are usually found 10 miles from shore. The average
catch of fish was over 3000 tons a year in the 1990’s, now
it is around 500 tons directly due to the Israeli siege of
Gaza. Also, the water in which the fishermen of Gaza sail
in is now receiving 50 million litres of sewage per day
because the people of Gaza have no alternative due to the
lack of power supplies to sewage treatment
facilities.
4.
Fifteen Palestinian fishermen and three internationals
abducted from Palestinian waters off the coast of Gaza
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