Human Rights Groups File Legal Appeal

Human Rights Groups File Legal Appeal Against Ehud Barak Over the Confiscation of Three Palestinian Fishing Boats

Ramallah, Occupied West Bank: On November 25, 2008, Al-Mazan, the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) and the International Solidarity Movement (ISM) have filed a legal appeal against Ehud Barak and the commander of the Israeli Navy. The appeal was launched over Israel's illegal confiscation of three large fishing boats from Palestinian territorial waters on the 18th November.

This appeal has been sent to the supreme court asking why the boats have not been released and why the fishermen have not been compensated for their loss of income and their loss of use of the boats for the past week.

The boats were abducted 7 1/2 miles from the port of Deir al-Balah, so they were well within Zone L, which, under the Oslo agreement, gives them the right to be fishing within their own 20 nautical mile limit. Israel's actions raises serious doubts about their claim that Gaza is no longer occupied.

The action against Barak and the Israeli Navy is based, in part, on the The Hague convention, "Family honor and rights, the lives of persons, and private property, as well as religious convictions and practice, must be respected. Private property can not be confiscated."

ENDS

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