It’s an unusual atmosphere to discuss the drama that Palestinian fishermen live each day in the waters off the coast of Gaza. We are in a coffee shop in Tel Aviv, at the corner between Mazarik Street and Rabin Public square, and Brazilian rhythms match the festive spirit of the people who crowd the area. Nevertheless the captain of Israeli Navy, Ido M., 29 years (who asked us not to reveal his identity because he is still a reservist) chose it on purpose. “With this confusion nobody will lend attention to our conversation, for me it will be simpler not to be identified” explains the captain, looking intently at the representative of the Israeli association of soldiers and officials “Breaking the silence”, who organised this interview.

For a long time Ido M., who until December 2007 was in charge of a “Dabur” class patrol vessel, wanted “to break off Hush” on the behaviour of the Israeli warships against the fishermen of Gaza. But he could do it only after having left the military career. “I am still recalled every year for three weeks, but I’m not going any more in the sea of Gaza, I refused to do that and the Navy assigned me to an office”, adds the captain preparing himself to answer to our questions.

"In these two corridors, where nobody can enter and the waters are calm, obviously the fish abound, especially in spring. The fishermen, therefore, try to move there and try to launch their net that they will come back later to recover full of fish. In those cases the Navy step in harshly arresting the fishermen, confiscating the boats, destroying the nets and using weapons."

For how long were you in charge in charge of an Israeli patrol vessel in the waters of Gaza?

Nearly three years, before and after 2005, but I had participated in missions in that zone during the training period at the naval academy.

Why did you mention 2005, the year of the pull out from Gaza of the Israeli soldiers and settlers?

The behaviour and the engagement rules of the Navy changed after the pull out. Before 2005 the violations (Israeli, editor’s note) of territorial waters of Gaza were occasional because the Palestinian fishermen had the possibility to push themselves off for a dozen miles and to throw the nets in teeming with fish waters.

After 2005 the Navy, by government command, began to shrink this limit, taking it to the minimum measure after June 2007, when Hamas took power in Gaza. At the same time the engagement rules eased off, I mean that if in 2002 every military operation against the fishermen had to be co-ordinated at any moment with the central command, after 2005 and above all in 2007, huge freedom was left to the commanders of the units “Dabur”. Moreover, in the past every operation (against the fishermen) was followed by a detailed analysis of what happened, nowadays this doesn’t happen.

Which are the rules?

The main one regards the shrinking distance allowed for fishing for the Palestinians of Gaza. Currently I think that a Palestinian fishing boat cannot go beyond a three miles limit from the coast but, in any case, this is not so relevant. In fact, when we go out in the sea, we receive the orders and the new limit decided by the political authorities. Often it’s further reduced. Our duty is to make fishermen keep to this limit. The action of our units becomes more intense and repressive in two corridors, 1,5 km wide, in those Palestinian waters that define the eastern and western limit of the space allowed to the fishermen. In these two corridors, where nobody can enter and the waters are calm, obviously the fish abound, especially in spring. The fishermen, therefore, try to move there and try to launch their net that they will come back later to recover full of fish. In those cases the Navy step in harshly arresting the fishermen, confiscating the boats, destroying the nets and using weapons.

But these waters are Palestinian and not Israeli.

Of course, what I’m telling you always happens in waters of Gaza. During the years in which I was on active duty in that zone it never happened that some Palestinian attempt to infiltrate in territorial waters of Israel and during the last few years the percentage of Palestinian armed actions via sea does not exceed 0.1%.

Officials and sailors know that they are facing fishermen who are just trying to draw their livelihood from the sea?

Of course, everybody knows it.

Did you ever discuss it (ethically) making your way back to the base?

Rarely, nearly never. When you are part of the system, it’s very difficult to call it into question. Moreover, officials and sailors want to obtain results, to show their seniors that the Navy is doing its part, giving its contribution to the “fight against terrorism”, like the Army and the Air Force. Even though the result is the arrest of a poor fisherman and the seizure of his boat.

Let’s speak about how and why Israeli Navy manages the arrests in the sea.

Also in this case the official rules are not so relevant. Sometimes, when we stop the fishermen and we check their documents, the central command orders to arrest one or two of them, without a precise motivation. We carry them to the base of Ashdod where they are taken to the men of Shin Bet (the Internal Security Service) that has the task of interrogating them, but also to recruit collaborators.

Are you informed about it?

Our task finishes when the arrested ones set foot on land but, naturally, we know that Shin Bet tries to have information on what happens in Gaza, especially since Hamas took power. We know they try to transform the arrested ones in spies, threatens them With years in jail or, on the contrary, promising them money and special permissions.

Did you ever ordered to your men to shoot in the direction of the Palestinian boats?

Yes, I did it and once the fire of the machine-guns hurt a fisherman. Most of the times we don’t shoot directly on the fishing boats but in the sea, on the left side of the boat. In this way bullets, bouncing on the water, fall towards right with less lethal effects but not less dangerous. I know that many fishermen of Gaza were hurt from the fire of our crews. One night the Palestinian were out in sea with a greater boat and some small boats that were forming a circle. The fishermen also had lighted some oil lamps trying to attract the fish. But they were beyond the forbidden limit of 1,5 km and from the central command they ordered me to open fire and to sink one of the smaller boats as a punitive action. From my unit, a sailor gave some warnings in Hebrew to the Palestinian, then the light machine-gun made fire. One of the fishermen was hit in the legs. While we went away we saw his companions trying to help him.

Did you ever disobey to an order while you were in the waters of Gaza?

Yes, or at least I didn’t execute them as they would have liked me to do. We had arrested some fishermen. The central command ordered me to interrogate them, but they were refusing to reveal their identity to us. From Ashdod they insisted to have those information, I answered that the Palestinian continued to remain dumb. Therefore they said to me to go ahead and to make them speak in any way. At that point I understood that they were asking me to use the force. I replied that I would not made it. The next minutes were really difficult. Trying to solve that situation, I took aside one of the Palestinian, who spoke a little bit of Hebrew, asking him to tell us at least their names. But that conciliating gesture frightened him, maybe he thought I would have beaten him, and he began to cry although my reassurances. A scene that I will never forget.

Why did you decide to tell this story to the journalists?

Because we must break the Hush, we can’t be silent knowing what happens in the waters of Gaza.

Palestine Monitor