Palestinian Family Denied Bathroom Access by Israeli Military Order

A Palestinian family in the occupied West Bank has been denied access to their own bathroom for three weeks due to an Israeli military order, residents reported Monday. The family resides in the village of Umm al-Kheir, near the settlement of Carmel, where tensions with nearby settlers prompted the army's intervention.

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In order to disperse all parties involved, a temporary closed military zone order was issued.

Ikhlas al-Hathalin, 42, who lives with her family of 14, stated that their outhouse is situated between their home and a caravan recently installed by Israeli settlers. "In order to disperse all parties involved, a temporary closed military zone order was issued," the military told AFP. Hathalin recounted that settlers previously harassed the family, knocking on the bathroom door and demanding they leave. Now, the family must use bathrooms at the community center or rely on neighbors, a situation Hathalin described as causing "embarrassment and hardship beyond what you can imagine."

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the settlers would come to the bathroom and knock on the door, wanting us to leave.

The dispute escalated earlier this month when settlers placed a swinging chair between the family's house and the outhouse, leading to a confrontation that involved Israeli forces. The military acknowledged that soldiers in the area witness "unlawful activity by Israelis, some of which may include violent incidents or actions directed at Palestinians or their property." The military order also restricts the family's access to a nearby sheep pen, their primary source of livelihood, allowing entry only when Israeli forces are present every three to four days. The military maintains the closure is temporary and that the family still has access to their livestock.

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The embarrassment and hardship of going to the toilet is beyond what you can imagine.

Ahmed al-Hathalin, a village council member, expressed frustration, stating, "We are trying to put pressure on the occupation authorities, but the matter is in the hands of the settlers, and the current occupation government is itself a government of settlers." The area shows signs of continued settlement expansion, with five new mobile homes recently erected behind the Hathalin home. Over 500,000 Israelis reside in settlements across the West Bank, an area occupied by Israel since 1967, alongside approximately three million Palestinians.

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We are trying to put pressure on the occupation authorities, but the matter is in the hands of the settlers, and the current occupation government is itself a government of settlers.