Marine Intifada? Skirmishes Rise Along Gaza Coast

Fisherman bait Israeli naval forces
along 6-km nautical border, officers say - and may be looking to reel in
intelligence, not food.
Following the end of Operation
Protective Edge in Gaza in August, Israel has allowed Palestinian fishermen to venture six
nautical miles (about 9.5 km) from shore.
But as fisherman continue to
complain over restraints on their movement - designed to prevent terrorism and
to separate Hamas from its weapons suppliers - and IDF officials have raised
concerns that they may be systematically creeping toward Israeli shore, it was
revealed Sunday.
Egyptian sources told Israel early
in ceasefire negotiations that Hamas would demand a radius of 12 nautical miles
(22 km) for Gazan fisherman, but official declarations to that effect were
never taken.
But Naval Corps officers told Walla!
News Sunday that frustrated fisherman have begun casting their lines
beyond that boundary on their own - "systemically deviating" from the
agreement while also making obscene gestures at soldiers and ignoring calls to
remain within the naval limit.
As a result, tensions along the Gaza
coastline have been eddying, they said.
Navy Commander Colonel Ram Rothberg
increased patrols along the six-mile border to prevent further infiltration
into Israeli waters, but public defiance of this has only increased.
Over the past two weeks, an Israeli
ship apprehended one vessel and took it into Israeli custody; at least three
Palestinian fishermen have been arrests; and in one case, a fishing boat was
forced to be apprehended long-distance, by naval personnel disabling the
boat.
"There is no doubt, the
fishermen in Gaza have become bolder and more brazen," a Navy officer told
the daily. "On the one hand we know that they want to throw nets and fish
in areas where there are more fish, but on the other hand they ignore
ostentatiously international guidelines."
"I do not want to say that this
is the Palestinian Marine Intifada," he added, "but in some cases
they act as if they have nothing to lose."
"This raises suspicion that
they are not just there to catch fish, but also to gather intelligence about
the Navy, so that one day they can carry out a terror attack."
The officer affirmed that, despite
this, border patrols along the nautical line have been frequent, and have kept
terror at bay - for now.
Meanwhile, the defense establishment
has expressed growing concern over attempts to smuggle weapons by sea, in
attempts to replenish the arsenal the IDF destroyed during the Gaza
war.
To combat this, the Navy has been
working closely with the Egyptian Navy, sources said, as Egypt is also in the
midst of its own crackdown on Islamist terrorism.