Rights group slams Egypt's 'execution' of Palestinian fishermen

The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights denounced what it described as an "execution" of the two brothers, noting a third sibling was wounded.

It came after Egyptian forces shot at their fishing boat along the Palestinian-Egyptian maritime border last week.

"It is clear that there are specific instructions and orders to shoot to kill everyone who crosses the border [with Egypt] by land or sea," director of the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights, Raji Sourani told Arabi21.

These regulations must be immediately and quickly changed at a political level in Egypt, Sourani advised, noting it is "unreasonable and unacceptable" that hunters or even infiltrators immediately lose their lives just for crossing borders.

The rights defender compared the situation to the rest of the world, notably the borders between the United States and Mexico, as well as those across the European Union, were millions of migrants attempt to cross without losing their lives in the process.

"Our elder sister Egypt knows the circumstances in the Gaza Strip and it is harsh to see this along the maritime border. No one’s life was threatened or taken on the Egyptian side - there is no proportionality," he said.

The killing of Mahmoud Muhammad al-Zaazou and his brother Hassan caused outrage in the Palestinian territories.

The funeral for for the brothers was held in Gaza on Sunday morning in the Deir al-Balah area of the strip.

Israel and Egypt imposed a blockade on Gaza in 2007 to isolate Hamas after it seized control of the territory from the internationally backed Palestinian Authority.

Hamas’ relations with Egypt have experienced different phases of warmness and tension, but Cairo has been a longtime mediator between Hamas and Israel, securing numerous ceasefire deals and unofficial truces between the two sides to calm down cross-border fighting.

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