The decision to expand the Gaza permitted fishing zone for Gaza fisherman has left Israel Navy Commander Admiral Rom Rothenberg with new concerns. The fishing zone was expanded from six to nine miles in an effort to ease restrictions on Gaza fisherman trying to earn a livelihood.

However, one of the challenges accompanying the move is the increase in incidents between fisherman and the navy, with Admiral Rothenberg fearing Hamas will take advantage of the larger fishing area.

“I can fire in the air and use illumination flares, to fire at a fishing vessel and scrape the boat but for as long as they have a motor they will continue to flee”, Walla News quotes a senior naval office saying, adding “what remains is for me to fire at the engine of the boat and the moment I strike the motor the incident ends and he is under arrest”.

The office however explains firing at the engine of a boat is not always an option and the naval patrols face this dilemma daily as they work to make sure fishing boats are not used to smuggle Hamas terrorists. Officers explain fisherman no longer stop when shots are fired in the air as they once did and the situation for naval patrols is far more difficult. Navy officers explain Dabur patrol boats routinely encounter such situations as well as fishing boats carrying small children, making the decision to fire at them more difficult.

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)