June 23, 2011

Israeli naval vessels fire on and heavily damage a Palestinian fishing boat off the Rafah coast, rescuing the 2 fishermen and taking them to Ashdod port, where they are questioned and returned to Gaza. In the West Bank, the IDF demolishes 2 barnyards in the Wadi Hassasa area nr. Bethlehem; confiscates a tractor fr. a Palestinian farmer in Wadi Fukin nr. Bethlehem; patrols in 1 village nr. Ramallah; and conducts daytime arrest raids, house searches nr. Jenin. (PCHR 6/30; OCHA 7/1)

Cyprus bans all departures from its seaports to Gaza, warning pro-Palestinian activists connected with the Freedom Flotilla II not to use the country as a springboard to challenge Israel’s Gaza blockade. (REU 6/23)