On the morning of April 7 the 105 residents of Khirbet al Majaz, in the southern West Bank region of Masafer Yatta, were awakened by a low-flying Israeli helicopter passing over their homes at about 6AM. At 6:30 soldiers fired a half-dozen large mortar shells, which sounded like bombs going off close-by their homes. Currently 8 large Israeli tanks occupy the fields outside the village, and soldiers are firing live rifle ammunition within sight of shepherds and their sheep.
Khirbet al Majaz is one of 8 villages that lie within what Israel has designated “Firing Zone 918,” and is attempting to forcibly remove the 1000 residents of the area, about half of whom are children.