Islamic Hamas movement on Sunday slammed the Israeli army’s decision of minimizing the allowed area of fishing for Gaza Strip’s fishermen from six to three miles.
“This is another additional Israeli escalation against the people in Gaza Strip,” Sami Abu Zuhri, Hamas spokesman in Gaza, said in an emailed statement.
He added that Israel’s new measure “shows that the occupation ( Israel) is untruthful in stopping the escalation and insists on carrying on with its aggression on our people.”
An Israeli army spokeswoman had earlier told Xinhua that the new restrictions for Gaza Strip’s fishermen was made “in the light of the ongoing tension and rockets’ firing into southern Israel.”
Meanwhile, Nizar Ayyash, the chairman of Gaza fishermen union, condemned Israel’s decision, saying “these restrictions would negatively influence the living of 4,000 fishermen.”
Tension between Israel and Hamas has been growing after Israel accused the Islamic movement for being behind the kidnapping and the killing of three Israeli teenagers in southern West Bank last month.
The Israeli army said that more than 100 rockets, projectiles and mortars were fired from the Gaza Strip into southern Israeli towns and communities. Three Palestinian militants were killed and more than 25 civilians injured.
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