Palestinian fishermen along the Gaza Strip's bountiful coast are in despair at the wave of violence in the area which has kept them ashore and their nets dry. When Israeli forces made their first incursion for months into the Palestinian-run strip last Monday, much of the fire came from patrol boats, throwing a spotlight on little-reported restrictions that Israel's navy imposes on the coast.

"This year is a year of zero profits for fishermen in the Gaza Strip," fisherman Adnan Al Amoudi said yesterday. "You can say we are unemployed." Amoudi said Israeli naval gunships fired at the fishermen's tiny boats almost every night, often stopping them from sailing into seas in which they say they are allowed under interim peace deals.

He said that several times, the gunships had detained fishermen in permitted fishing areas and confiscated boats and equipment. Amoudi and other fishermen believe that under the interim agreements, Palestinian fishermen should be allowed to sail 12 miles out to sea. Instead, they say, the gunboats barely allow them to go one or two miles offshore before they are herded back towards the coast.

An Israeli army spokesman rejected the accusations, saying the Israeli navy never fired at "innocent fishermen". The spokesman said a general closure imposed on movement out of the Gaza Strip had also included the sea, but restrictions on fishermen had been eased in mid-March.

The spokesman said under the arrangements, Palestinians were allowed to fish in an area up to 6 km (3.5 miles) off the coast. "A fishing boat that violates the regulations and refuses to cooperate with the navy is stopped for investigation," he said.

"They mean to scare us so we retreat to the shore empty handed," Amoudi said. "Several times Israeli boats have fired at our fishermen, detained them and confiscated their fish," a Palestinian police spokesman said.

Fishing, which dates back to biblical times in the area, and agriculture are the two main sources of living in the Gaza Strip's ailing economy. Agriculture has been seriously damaged with thousands of acres of orchards razed during the past seven months of fighting.

Palestinian officials estimate that Israel's strict measures on Palestinian exports and the general closure of Gaza and the West Bank has resulted in more than $3 billion in losses.
Before last September's uprising when peace talks broke down, about 5,000 men were involved in fishing.

The number has fallen to about 3,000 now and the remaining fishermen say they live under the threat of losing their jobs because of lost markets or of losing their lives.

Palestinian police said about 600 fishermen in the southern Gaza Strip, where there has been regular fighting, have been unable to throw their nets in the water for seven months. Amoudi, 42, said he knew no other life except fishing: "Just like a fish, I will die if taken out of water."

Having nothing to do, Amoudi, two of his eight sons and 10 fellow fishermen sit under a tent, fixing huge nets. Their tiny boats floated in the waters of the nearby Mediterranean Sea.