The 18-month-old toddler was killed when four Jewish settlers hurled fire bombs inside two homes, setting off a blaze that killed a sleeping toddler and critically wounded his parents and 4-year-old brother. “Such a crime would not have occurred if the Israeli government did not insist on pursuing settlements and protecting settlers”, Nabil Abu Rdainah said.
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His parents and brother also suffered serious injuries.
Mr Netanyahu told his weekly cabinet meeting that his government would have “zero tolerance” for Jewish extremists.
The family’s small brick and cement home in the village of Duma was gutted by fire, while a Jewish Star of David was spray-painted on a wall along with the words “revenge” and “long live the Messiah”.
Jordan issued a harsh condemnation of the incident, placing blame on the Israeli government.
The attack threatened to set off another violent escalation and further stirred Palestinian fears that Israel allows attacks by militant Jewish settlers in the West Bank to go unpunished, though Israel says it does its best to track down assailants.
His mother and father, Riham and Saad, and their 4-year old son Ahmad, also sustained moderate injuries and were evacuated to a nearby hospital, where they are reportedly in critical condition.
About 2,000 Palestinian protesters clashed with Israeli security forces in the West Bank city of Hebron.
“Dirty traitor. Your end will be worse than [Ariel] Sharon’s”, said one comment quoted by the Maariv newspaper, referring to the late Israeli former premier who spent eight years in a coma.
Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon authorized the use of a controversial “administrative detention” procedure for suspects in a firebombing which has been condemned by Prime Minister Benjamin Natanyahu as “terrorism ” by “criminals in our nation”.
B’Tselem, an Israeli human rights group, said 391 Palestinians were in custody under administrative detention as of May but that there were no recorded cases of Israelis being similarly detained in recent years.
Abdullah called on global community to strictly react against the brutal act and introduce the perpetrators to war crimes court so that justice is availed.
In Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, thousands of Israelis demonstrated against the extremism that bred the Duma attack as well as the stabbing of six participants of a Gay Pride march in Jerusalem on Thursday by an ultra-Orthodox Jew.
“We must reinforce and activate people and peaceful resistance on all levels and on all tracks in order to confront and deter the terror of settlers who are protected by (Israel)”, the statement said.
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“The Jewish people are ashamed of the actions by some among us and we have come to ask forgiveness”.
