Two Israeli human rights organizations announced today, Sunday, that a court in the Hebrew state ordered the government to temporarily return to a fisherman from the Gaza Strip his boat that was confiscated from him months ago, on the grounds that it exceeded the fishing area allowed for the fishermen of the besieged Palestinian Strip.

The Israeli non-governmental Gisha Foundation (Maslak) and Adalah Center for Human Rights said in a joint statement that "Israel was forced on Friday to release a fishing boat and return it to the Gaza Strip until the end of the legal procedures in the Israeli court."

"The boat was seized by the Israeli naval forces at the end of 2022," the statement said.

According to the statement, "the Israeli naval forces seized two boats, owned by fishermen from the Al-Hassi family in Gaza, within the maritime space of the Gaza Strip in February and November 2022."

Last September, "Geisha" succeeded in obtaining a decision to temporarily release the boat that was confiscated in February, pending a final court ruling.

As for the second boat, which was confiscated in November, the family received it on Friday, according to what was confirmed by the owner's brother, Jihad Al-Hassi.

Al-Hissi described the Israeli decision to release the boat as "unjust" because it was subject to "very strict conditions."

Among these conditions, according to the joint statement, is that "the sector's fishermen deposit financial guarantees in high amounts, bearing in mind that the fishermen in the sector are a vulnerable group."

Al-Hissi explained, "We paid a financial guarantee of fifty thousand shekels (about 14,000 US dollars), as the family managed to collect half of the amount, while donors paid the other half."

He continued, "The lawyers told us that this bail will be returned if the verdict is issued in our favor."

Likewise, “the court stipulated the presence of an Israeli guarantor with a guarantee of one hundred thousand shekels, which will be settled if a decision is issued to confiscate the boat, whose value was estimated by a committee of the court at $30,000,” according to Al-Hissi.

Al-Hissi told AFP he regretted the loss incurred by the family as a result of the confiscation of their boat and their inability to fish during that period.

For its part, the Israeli army did not immediately respond to an AFP question about this issue.

Israel sets the permitted fishing area for Palestinian fishermen off the Gaza Strip on average between 6 and 15 nautical miles, which it sometimes reduces for security reasons, especially when there is a security escalation between it and the Gaza Strip, which is controlled by Hamas.

According to the two organizations' statement, the confiscation of the two boats affected dozens of Palestinian men and women from the Gaza Strip.

The two organizations indicated that the first boat was returned in September 2022 in poor condition and without the equipment on board.

The same applies to the second boat, according to Al-Hassi, who said that the boat "needs a complete maintenance of the engine, and the fishing nets, ropes, etc. are scorched from the sun."

There are about 700 boats in the Gaza Strip, with about 4,000 fishermen who support more than 70,000 Palestinians.

During the past year, the Israeli authorities confiscated 23 fishing boats in Gaza waters, the highest number recorded since 2017, according to the Al-Mezan Center for Human Rights in Gaza.

Since 2007, Israel has imposed a tight sea, land and air blockade on the strip, which has a population of more than 2.3 million Palestinians, most of whom are poor refugees.

After confiscating the two boats, Israel resorted to the District Court in Haifa, in its capacity as the court competent in maritime affairs, and submitted to it an exceptional request, the first of its kind.

The government asked the court to allow it to permanently confiscate the fishing boats, according to the joint statement.