Hamas accuses Israel of reducing Gaza fishermen's work space

Source : http://www.globaltimes.com

Hamas on Friday accused Israel of violating an Egyptian-brokered ceasefire by restoring restrictions on Gaza fishermen's work space.

The Israeli decision to reduce the fishing space to three nautical miles coincides with the closure of the only commercial crossing point for Gaza Thursday in response to rockets fired from Gaza on Israeli targets, which left no injuries.

"This is a clear violation of the ceasefire and we blame the Israeli occupation on any consequences of this decision," Sami Abu Zuhri, spokesperson of the Islamic movement, told Xinhua.

Abu Zuhri called on Egypt, in its capacity as the sponsor of the truce, "to follow up" with Israel and "shoulder its responsibility regarding this violation," stressing that the Palestinian factions will stay committed to the truce.

The agreement reached last November, which ended eight days of cross-border fighting between Hamas militants and Israel, requires Israel to increase the fishing space to six nautical miles, adding more facilities at the crossing point and canceling a 300-meter- wide buffer zone along its borders with Gaza.

An Al-Qaida-linked group, which has often challenged Hamas' rule in Gaza, claimed responsibility for firing the rockets into Sderot on Thursday, the second of their kind since the ceasefire.

The Israeli army said Thursday that one of the rockets hit the yard of a house in the southern town of Sderot, another landed in an open area in Sha'ar HaNegev Regional Council, and two others fell short inside Gaza.

The rockets firing came as US President Barack Obama was visiting Israel and the West Bank.

Last month, Israel said Palestinian militants fired a Grad rocket into the southern coastal city of Ashkelon.

On the other hand, the Israeli army have killed four Palestinians and wounded dozens in separate incidents since the Egyptian-brokered ceasefire took effect.