GAZA CITY (Ma'an) -- Hamas security forces in Gaza have banned fishermen from working since Monday, a human rights center said Wednesday.Israel has limited how far out Gaza boats can go, but to my knowledge they have never banned fishing altogether. Only Hamas has.
Naval security forces in the coastal territory imposed a ban on fishing at 5 a.m. on Monday for "security reasons," according to Al-Mezan center for human rights.
Mahfouz al-Kabariti, chairman of the Palestinian Association for Fishing and Marine Sports, told Ma'an that fishermen were notified about the decision.
Palestinian sources in Gaza told Ma'an that it is likely the ban was imposed after three prisoners escaped from jail on Monday.
When will we see the tearjerking articles in the media about how Gazans are dependent on fishing for their food and how Hamas is starving them? When will we hear Human Rights Watch call this "collective punishment"?
Ha!
It is also noteworthy that this information came from a Gaza NGO, not from one of the many reporters in Gaza who work for Western news agencies. Why is that? There's a story there about how reporting is done in Gaza, but we will never hear it...because the people complicit in hiding stories from Gaza are the reporters in Gaza.
Moreover, note that the possible reason for the ban implies that people can sneak into and out of Gaza via boat. If so, Hamas' "security reasons" for the ban is far less compelling than Israel's security reasons to limit the zone where boats can sail.