Israel arrests four Palestinian fishermen off Gaza coast

GAZA (Reuters) - Israel arrested four Palestinian fishermen off the Mediterranean coast of Gaza on Saturday, Palestinian and Israeli sources said.

The Israeli military said it apprehended four fishermen. The navy fired at their boats, it added.

The secretary of the Gaza fishermen’s syndicate, Nizar Ayyash, told Reuters there were at least three Israeli attacks on Gaza fishermen on Saturday -- all within the permitted fishing area.

In one of the incidents, he said, Israeli forces fired rubber bullets at a boat, wounding two of the four people aboard who were later hospitalised. In another, they seized a small boat after detaining the four fishermen on board, he added.

Fishing is one of the biggest industries in the coastal enclave, home to some 2.3 million Palestinians.

Israel maintains a land, air and sea blockade of Gaza, which is governed by the group named Hamas, citing security concerns. Boats are not allowed to stray beyond a fixed limit to the north towards Israel and Egypt keeps similar limitations to the south-west.