MEMO, May 12, 2010

A Gazan fisherman was killed early Wednesday morning after an Egyptian patrol boat forcefully collided with the fisherman's boat on the sea border between Rafah and Egypt. Mohammed Ibrahim al-Bardaweel (44 years) was killed and two of his relatives were seriously wounded.

Witnesses said that Al-Bardaweel had been fishing in his engineless boat when the Egyptian boat rammed into it, injuring him and his two relatives, who were all taken to Abu Yousef al-Najjar hospital, where Al-Bardaweel later died. Their fishing nets were later confiscated by the authorities.

This is not the first time Palestinian fishermen have been assaulted and harassed by Egyptian authorities while at sea.