An Israeli military order has blocked a Palestinian family in the West Bank from reaching their bathroom for three weeks, local residents said Monday, after tensions with nearby settlers prompted the army to intervene in the area.

The family’s complaint comes as violence has continued in the West Bank, with two Palestinians reported killed by the Israel Defense Forces overnight. The IDF said its troops opened fire in response to attacks during a riot.

The bathroom dispute is taking place in the village of Umm al-Kheir, near the Israeli settlement of Carmel, where Ikhlas al-Hathalin, 42, lives with her family of 14.

Their outhouse sits between their home and a trailer that Israeli settlers installed less than 100 meters (330 feet) away last year. Hathalin said the family faced harassment from the settlers, who “would come to the bathroom and knock on the door, wanting us to leave.”

The dispute escalated earlier this month when settlers installed a swinging chair between the family’s house and the outhouse, triggering a confrontation that drew in Israeli forces.

The Israel Defense Forces declared the area a closed military zone “in order to disperse all parties involved,” the military told AFP.

The family now goes “to the community center’s bathrooms or to the neighbors,” Hathalin said. “The embarrassment and hardship of going to the toilet is beyond what you can imagine.”

The military said soldiers stationed in the area regularly witness “unlawful activity by Israelis, some of which may include violent incidents or actions directed at Palestinians or their property.”

Hathalin said the military order also prevents the family from accessing the nearby sheep pen — its source of livelihood — except when Israeli forces are in the area, every three to four days.

The military said the closure was temporary, without giving an end date, and maintained that the family retains access to its livestock.

“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,” said Ahmed al-Hathalin, a member of the village council.

Behind the Hathalin home, five new mobile homes mark the latest settlement outpost taking shape........

© The Times of Israel