‘They took our toilet’: How a settlement has squeezed a Palestinian village

Palestinian villagers in Umm al-Khair, part of Masafer Yatta in the occupied West Bank, are facing increasing pressure from an illegal Israeli settlement outpost established in September, an extension of the Carmel settlement. The al-Hathaleen family, living 20 meters from the outpost, has experienced restricted access to their livestock enclosure and even their freestanding bathroom, which settlers have obstructed with barbed wire and playground equipment. The Israeli army has also declared the area around the bathroom a closed military zone, forcing the family to use a neighbor's toilet, a route Ikhlas al-Hathaleen describes as dangerous. Since October 2023, the village has seen an escalation in settler attacks and land expropriation, leading to a significant drop in livestock and the destruction of olive trees. Khalil al-Hathaleen, head of the village council, states, “For the people of Umm al-Khair, losing access to their land does not only mean losing property. It means losing an entire way of life that has existed for generations.” Children in the community are particularly affected, with 12-year-old Sahm Khalil al-Hathaleen noting, “Fear has become part of our daily lives.”