Palestinian toddler killed in arson attack

A Palestinian toddler has been killed and several other members of his family injured in a suspected arson attack believed carried out by Jewish extremists in the occupied West Bank.

The 18 month-old was burned to death when the house was set alight in the village of Kafr Douma near the city of Nablus in the northern West Bank.

The boy’s parents and his 4 year-old brother were taken to hospital with serious injuries.

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A man shows a picture of 18-month-old Palestinian toddler Ali Saad Dawabsha who died when his family house was set on fire by Jewish settlers in the West Bank village of Duma. Photograph: Getty Images

Israeli security officials said the fire is suspected to have been set by Jewish extremists.

Graffiti left at the scene included slogans associated with extremists.

In a statement, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) said: “Initial reports suggest that suspects entered the village in the early hours of the morning, set the homes ablaze and sprayed graffiti in Hebrew on the homes.”

“IDF forces are currently operating in order to locate the perpetrators of this attack.

"This attack against civilians is nothing short of a barbaric act of terrorism. A comprehensive investigation is underway in order to find the terrorists and bring them to justice," Lt Col Peter Lerner added.

“The IDF strongly condemns this deplorable attack and has heightened its efforts in the field to locate those responsible.”

This would be the worst attack by Israeli assailants since a Palestinian teenager was torched to death in Jerusalem a year ago. That followed the kidnapping and killing of three Israeli teenagers by Palestinian militants in the West Bank.

The Israeli military boosted forces in the area to search for the suspects, described by a spokesman as “two masked terrorists”, and prevent any escalation in violence. The Palestinian Islamist group Hamas called for revenge.

Ibrahim Dawabsheh, a Duma resident, said he heard people shouting for help from the house and rushed to it. “I saw two masked men outside,” he told Reuters. He went to get help and when he returned they had gone.

“We found the parents outside with burns, they said there was another son in the house. We brought him out and then they said there was another boy inside, but we couldn’t reach the bedroom because of the fire. He was left inside until rescue forces came,” Mr Dawabsheh said.

Pictures circulated by Palestinian media on the internet showed a smiling, chubby-faced boy, named as Ali Dawabsheh. Footage from the house showed blackened walls and singed family photos scattered across charred belongings.

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he was shocked and promised that “all means” would be used to bring the assailants to justice. “This is a terrorist attack. Israel takes firm action against terrorism, no matter who its perpetrators are,” he said.

Part of Mr Netanyahu’s right-wing coalition is the ultranationalist Jewish Home party, which advocates more settlements and settler rights in the West Bank. Jewish Home leader Naftali Bennett was quick to denounce the attack, but Palestinians accused the party of laying the ground for it.

A spokesman for Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas held Israel responsible. “Such a crime would not have occurred if the Israeli government did not insist on pursuing settlements and protecting settlers,” Nabil Abu Rdainah said.

‘Price tag’

Hamas spokesman Hussam Badran called for retribution. “This crime has made occupation soldiers and settlers everywhere legitimate targets,” he said.

Fearing the killing would provoke violence in Jerusalem, police restricted entrance to al-Aqsa mosque for Friday prayers to men over the age of 50 and to women. Police increased their presence in areas where stone-throwing clashes often occur.

Israeli police spokeswoman Luba Samri said the torching was an apparent "Price Tag" attack, a reference to militant settlers who threaten to exact retribution for any Israeli government curbs on settlement expansion in the West Bank.

Israel tore down two illegal structures in the Beit El settlement near Ramallah and removed dozens of people from another settlement near Nablus on Wednesday, prompting protests.

The “Price Tag” group has been blamed for torching a number of mosques in the West Bank in recent years. Those attacks caused widespread damage but no casualties.

Though Israel has promised to crack down on such assailants only a handful of indictments have been handed down.

The Palestinians seek a state in the West Bank, East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip. In the West Bank, they have limited self rule but nearly 60 percent of the territory remains under the full control of the Israeli military.

Israeli settlements are considered illegal under international law. The last round of US-brokered peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians broke down in 2014.

Additional reporting Reuters