Israel navy arrests Palestinian fishermen, say Gaza officials

Gaza City: 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 says it’s looking into the report.

Israel and Hamas-led militants in Gaza ended 50 days of intensive fighting on August 26 and committed to enter into indirect truce talks in Cairo aimed at developing a sustainable roadmap 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).

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 militants.

AP