Military training in South Hebron Hills
2 February 2021
On Tuesday, 2 Feb. 2021, at around midday, four busloads of soldiers and dozens of heavy military vehicles, including tanks and armored personnel carriers, drove up to “Firing Zone 918” and parked along its boundaries. The next day, at around 1:00 A.M., the forces started shelling practice that lasted until the early morning hours. The explosions and sounds of gunfire caused great fear among area communities, and especially the neighboring community of Khashm a-Daraj.
At around 6:00 A.M., the forces entered the community of Khirbet Jenbah in Masafer Yatta, drove among homes and near the community school and trampled fields of wheat and barley. They damaged a cave that one of the families used for storage, as well as a power cable leading from the village’s solar panel system to the mosque and the medical clinic, a water pipe serving one of the families, and the pathway connecting the community to Khirbet Bir al-‘Eid. From there, the forces continued north, trampling the fields of residents of Khirbet Bir al-‘Eid and Khirbet Susiya. They left the area at around 2:30 P.M.