An Israeli defense official announced that the fishing zone off Gaza would be split in half.
“It has been decided that the fishing zone in the Gaza Strip would be reduced from 12 nautical miles to six nautical miles,” the Israeli military branch responsible for civil affairs in the occupied Palestinian territories (COGAT) said on Sunday.
Under the 1993 Oslo Accords, Israel was obligated to permit fishing off the Gaza Strip’s coast for 20 nautical miles, but this has never been applied.
Several human rights groups have described the reduction of the fishing zone as a “punitive measure” that constitutes collective punishment, which causes great uncertainty and insecurity.
Prior to the conflict between Israel and Hamas, which killed at least 260 Palestinians, including 66 children, and caused widespread damage to infrastructure and residential areas, the Gaza fishing zone was 15 nautical miles.
