The funeral of a Palestinian infant killed in an Israeli arson attack took place in the Nablus village of Duma after prayers on Friday. The murder of Ali Dawabsha, a baby asleep in his crib, and the serious injuries of the members of his family, his brothers, his father, and his mother who is fighting for her life, cuts at the heart of all of us.
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“This attack against civilians is nothing short of a barbaric act of terrorism”. “Israel takes firm action against terrorism, no matter who its perpetrators are”.
Palestinian chief negotiator Saeb Erekat said he held the Israeli government fully responsible for this morning’s attack.
This was the worst attack by Israeli extremists since a Palestinian teenager was torched to death in Jerusalem a year ago. His son, Ibrahim, said he saw two masked men flee the scene.
“Price Tag” is the term widely used for attacks by Jewish extremists that have targeted churches, mosques, bilingual schools, and Palestinian individuals.
“We must fight terrorism together regardless of which side it comes from”, said Netanyahu, adding that he had ordered the security forces to use all measures to locate the murderers.
‘The settlers are committing their crimes under the protection of Netanyahu’s government.
The village is the home of a few 2,000 residents, many of whom work in agriculture or – like the owner of the second house that was attacked – as day laborers in Israel.
Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon, said Israel would not allow “Jewish terrorists” to carry out such acts. Perhaps if the Israeli government treated the Palestinian people with respect instead of systematically oppressing them groups like the one that murdered a toddler would not find so much fuel for their hatred. Police described it as a “suspected attack with nationalist motives”. Local media said one of the two homes set ablaze was empty. “We call for full accountability, effective law enforcement and zero tolerance for settler violence”, a spokesperson for EU foreign affairs head Federica Mogeherini said in a statement.
The Israeli military deployed troop reinforcements to the West Bank to quell further clashes and Netanyahu also placed a rare call to Abbas to express his outrage and call for calm.
“This ugly crime could have been avoided if the Israeli government had not ignored the rights of the Palestinian people and turned its back on peace…in the region”, government spokesman Mohammed Momani said.
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Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said the attack would be brought before the worldwide Criminal Court, where the Palestinians have threatened to lodge war crimes complaints against Israel for its settlement policies and last summer’s war in Gaza. I welcome the Israeli religious leadership’s condemnation of this awful crime, and I call on all those in positions of leadership to denounce this contemptible act. REUTERS/Abed Omar Qusini An Israeli police officer inspects a house that was badly damaged from a suspected attack by Jewish extremists on two houses at Kafr Duma village near the West Bank city of Nablus July 31, 2015.
