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Palestinian toddler killed in 'arson attack' by suspected Jewish extremists in Israel's West Bank Palestinian toddler burnt alive after masked 'Jewish extremists' target home in arson attack
(about 3 hours later)
A house fire in the occupied West Bank suspected to have been set by Jewish extremists killed an 18-month-old Palestinian child, injured a four-year-old brother and both parents on Friday, Israeli security officials said. An eighteen-month-old Palestinian child has been burnt alive in a horrific arson attack by suspected Jewish extremists on a home in a West Bank village in Israel.
Police spokeswoman Luba Samri said the “Price Tag” slogan used in the past by extremist Israelis was daubed on the walls of the family home that had been torched in a village near the West Bank city of Nablus. Ali Saad Dawabsha was asleep with the rest of his family when masked individuals targeted the house with graffiti and then threw two firebombs into the home at 4am on Friday morning in the village of Kafr Duma.
“This is a suspected attack with nationalist motives,” Samri said. It was the worst attack by Israeli extremists since a Palestinian teen was torched to death in a retribution slaying for three Israelis killed by abductors a year ago. The attackers allegedly daubed the walls of the two homes with the “Price tag” slogan, been used by Israeli extremists in the past, and which was quickly shared on social media.
The house at Kafr Duma was destroyed by fire, apparently as the family slept inside, and Israeli security forces were at the scene. #BREAKING: 2 Houses set on fire in #Duma village West Bank: Baby killed. parents & brothers injured. Writing sprayed pic.twitter.com/2GTUu2YgOI
A neighbouring house was also badly damaged but it had been empty and there were no casualties there. The three injured people from the first house were taken to Israeli hospitals, officials said. They also reportedly sprayed “revenge” and “long live the Messiah” on the walls in Hebrew, according to Haaretz.
Military spokesman Lt Col Peter Lerner called the attack "nothing short of a barbaric act of terrorism". Although the child’s father Sa’ad managed to get his wife Reham and four-year-old son Ahmed out of the building, witnesses told reporters he was unable to find the youngest as there was no electricity. The house next door, which was also targeted, was empty.
The military said the assailants entered the village of Duma in the early hours, where they torched the houses and scrawled Hebrew graffiti. Four people were evacuated to a hospital in Nablus, in the West Bank, and then to a burn unit at Sheba Medical Centre, Tel Ha-Shomer. Israel’s defence minister tweeted on Friday morning that the family would be transferred to Israeli hospitals.
Troops are scouring the area for the suspects. The toddler’s mother sustained 70 per cent burns. An Israeli military spokesperson said three people were critically injured in the attack, with another suffering from slight wounds.
The “Price Tag” group has been blamed for a string of mosque torchings in the West Bank in the past few years, often in retribution for Israeli actions against illegally built settlements. The attack has been labelled the worst since a Palestinian youth was abducted and set fire to at around this time last year. Authorities have urged people to show restraint.
Israel tore down two illegal structures in the Beit El settlement earlier this week. The Israeli Defence Force (IDF) confirmed the attack, with Brigader-General Moti Almoz telling the Jerusalem Post he does "not remember an incident this severe in recent years."
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned the “terrible criminal act,” telling the newspaper: “This is a terror attack. Israel deals harshly with terrorism, no matter who the perpetrators are”.
We have no intention of letting terrorists continue such evil.
I would like to extend my deepest condolences to the Dawabsha family on the murder of Ali and wish the wounded family members full recovery
IDF spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Peter Lerner labelled the attack “nothing short of a barbaric act of terrorism.”
He confirmed that an investigation to discover the perpetrators and bring them to justice was on-going as soldiers are patrol the area. Two infantry brigades have reportedly stopped training exercises and returned to their bases.
Reporting by Reuters and additional reporting by Associated PressReporting by Reuters and additional reporting by Associated Press