68 Israeli Land Grab and Forced Population Transfer of Palestinians Furthermore, Military Order 845 stipulates that the penalties for persons entering these zones unauthorized or without special permits issued by the Military Commander is a maximum of 5 years in prison or, otherwise, a maximum fine of 202,000 ILS ($55,000 USD).227 Since 1967, this system has allowed for the extensive requisition of approximately 18 percent of West Bank land for ‘closed military zone’ training or ‘firing zones.’228 Firing Zone 918 Firing Zone 918229 is located in the Masafer-Yatta area of the South Hebron Hills where the Israeli military designated about 30,000 dunums (30 km2), engulfing 12 Palestinian villages, as a Firing Zone in the 1980s.230 In November 1999 the Israeli military expelled over 700 villagers, confiscated their cisterns and destroyed their property.231 Following the expulsion, residents petitioned the Israeli Supreme Court232 after which the Court issued an interim order allowing the residents to return to their homes pending a final ruling. As of January 2013, 1,300 Palestinians had been living in these villages for several decades.233 Parallel to the Supreme Court proceedings 1199/99 and 517/00, another petition was made on behalf of Palestinian residents of Sfai, Jinba and Majaz in the Hebron governorate in 2005 (HCJ 805/05) against the demolition of 15 cisterns and a series of 19 restrooms, which included cesspools. These structures served 18 families (approximately 320 persons), the majority of whom resided in Sfai.234 The State of Israel, in its response dated 19 July 2012, asserted that the establishment 227 Order Concerning Raising Fines Set Forth by the Law of Military Legislation (Judea and Samaria) 1980, 1980 Article 1(4). 228 OCHA, Khirbat Tana: Large-scale Demolitions For The Third Time In Just Over A Year (February 2011); available from http://www.ochaopt.org/documents/ocha_opt_khirbet_tana_fact_sheet_20110210_ english.pdf; accessed 23 April 2013. 229 Firing Zone 918: Ahmad ’Issa Abu ’Aram Et Al V. Commander of IDF Forces in Judea and Samaria (HCJ Pending). 230 RHR and Breaking The Silence, Info-sheet: The 12 Villages of Firing Zone 918 in the South Hebron Hills (November 7, 2012); available from http://www.acri.org.il/en/2012/11/07/firing-zone-918infosheet/; accessed 23 April 2013. 231 B’Tselem, State’s Response Re Firing Zone 918 Ignores the Laws of Occupation (August 27, 2012); available from http://www.btselem.org/south_hebron_hills/20120827_firing_zone_918_state_ response; accessed 23 April 2013. 232 Ahmad ’Issa Abu ’Aram Et Al V. Commander of IDF Forces in Judea and Samaria. 233 ACRI, Files New Petition Against Expulsion of 1,000 Palestinians from Area C (January 16, 2013); available from http://www.acri.org.il/en/2013/01/16/new-petition-firing-zone-918/; accessed 24 April 2013. 234 Al-Harami, ‘The Village of Jayyous, District of Qalqilya’.