Israel violates terms of Gaza cease-fire
Israel is still not abiding by the terms of the cease-fire deal that ended the Gaza war in August, and still harasses and fires at Palestinian farmers and fishermen.
BEIT LAHIYA, Gaza Strip — Ibrahim al-Muslimi, a 60-year-old farmer, is repeatedly exposed to gunfire in his farmland in the northern Gaza Strip, less than a kilometer from the Israeli border.
Muslimi, who owns more than 40 dunams (10 acres) planted with vegetables and fruits, told Al-Monitor that farmers in the entire agricultural area adjacent to the border see gunfire on an almost daily basis.
“Ever since the end of the Israeli war and the signing of the truce agreement, we have not felt any kind of security in our territory,” Muslimi said. “Whenever we are there, we feel like we are waiting for death and that we will be exposed to a bullet or an Israeli shell at any moment. Israel is shooting us for the sake of scaring us, driving us to leave our territory and emptying border areas of any Palestinian.”
Israel closed its border crossings with Gaza on Nov. 24 to prevent the export of vegetables from the Gaza Strip to the West Bank and some Arab countries, in clear violation of the truce agreement signed between the Palestinian factions and Israel under the auspices of Egypt. One of the most important points of the truce was the opening of the crossings and providing guarantees to lift the siege on Gaza.
