A house fire suspected to have been set by Jewish extremists killed an 18-month-old Palestinian child and injured several people in the occupied West Bank on Friday, Israeli police said.
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The IDF said it appears that suspects entered the village early Friday morning and set fire to two homes, and sprayed graffiti in Hebrew on the buildings.
“This attack against civilians is nothing short of a barbaric act of terrorism”.
The attacks are known “price tag” violence – a euphemism for nationalist-motivated hate crimes by Jewish extremists aimed at Arab property.
A large number of Israeli security forces were reported to have arrived at the scene and are investigating the attack.
“A comprehensive investigation is underway in order to find the terrorists and bring them to justice”.
“We are deeply concerned about the Israeli government’s announcement today of the advancement of almost 300 new housing units in the West Bank settlement of Beit El, as well as hundreds of new housing units in East Jerusalem”, said the statement from Deputy Department Spokesman Mark C. Toner.
The Israel army issued a statement saying that they were trying to locate the suspects of the attack.
Another house was also damaged by the fire.
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Interior Minister Silvan Shalom has defended the decision to remove homes in the 350-strong South Hebron Hills community, which is wedged between two Jewish settlements and where most families live in temporary shelters, surviving on sheep farming, bee-keeping and selling embroidered goods.
