GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — The Israeli navy arrested four Palestinian fishermen and seized their boat on Tuesday, a Gaza official says, in one of the first instances of friction between the sides since the Gaza war ended last month.
The incident occurred off the northern Gaza town of Beit Lahiya, said Nizar Ayyash of the Gaza Fishermen’s Union. He provided no additional details.
The Israeli military said it’s looking into the report.
Israel and Hamas ended 50 days of intensive fighting on August 26 and committed to enter into indirect truce talks in Cairo aimed at developing a sustainable road-map for the future of the densely-populated coastal territory.
As part of the ceasefire deal that halted the fighting, Israel doubled the maritime area in which Gaza fishermen are permitted to operate from five to nine kilometers (three to six miles).
Get The Times of Israel's Daily Edition
by email and never miss our top stories
By signing up, you agree to the
terms
Israel has also hinted at its willingness to consider an additional doubling of the maritime area permitted to Gaza fishermen as part of its efforts to improve overall economic conditions there. But it remains wary of allowing the fishermen open-ended access to the Mediterranean Sea, fearing their boats could be used to smuggle weapons and weapons-manufacturing materials for use by Hamas terrorists.
Copyright 2014 The Associated Press.
Help us report truthfully on social media
As a multimedia journalist, my job is to take the quality, fact-based journalism produced by The Times of Israel newsroom and make it accessible across every platform — from Instagram posts to podcasts to short-form videos.
This is how many, especially young people, consume news these days. But misinformation is rampant on social media. Our team at ToI produces accurate, responsible short-form reporting on Israel and the Jewish world.
If you believe in the importance of factual social media journalism, please consider joining our reader support group, The Times of Israel Community. Your financial support is essential to sustain responsible multimedia reporting.
— Gabriella Jacobs, multimedia journalist
Support our work
Support our work
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this
You're a dedicated reader
We’re really pleased that you’ve read X Times of Israel articles in the past month.
That’s why we started the Times of Israel - to provide discerning readers like you with must-read coverage of Israel and the Jewish world.
So now we have a request. Unlike other news outlets, we haven’t put up a paywall. But as the journalism we do is costly, we invite readers for whom The Times of Israel has become important to help support our work by joining The Times of Israel Community.
For as little as $6 a month you can help support our quality journalism while enjoying The Times of Israel AD-FREE, as well as accessing exclusive content available only to Times of Israel Community members.
Thank you,
David Horovitz, Founding Editor of The Times of Israel
Join Our Community
Join Our Community
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on Google
