Israel Slashes Gaza Fishing Zone By Half After Incendiary Balloon Fires

The fishing zone and imports are used by Israel to punish or reward Gaza for the security situation.

Israel on Sunday reduced by half the fishing zone off Gaza, defence officials said, after incendiary balloons launched from the Palestinian enclave caused fires in the Jewish state. "It has been decided to reduce the fishing zone in the Gaza Strip from 12 nautical miles to six nautical miles," the Israeli military branch responsible for civil affairs in the Palestinian territories (COGAT) said. "The decision was made following the continued launching of incendiary balloons from the Gaza Strip towards Israel, which constitutes a violation of Israeli sovereignty," it said in a statement. Gaza's ruling group Hamas was "responsible for all activities within the Gaza Strip and all actions originating in the Gaza Strip directed towards the state of Israel", COGAT said.