The Israeli government has been quick to condemn the attack, describing it as an act of terrorism.
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No-one has claimed responsibility for the blaze which tore through a home in the village of Duma in the occupied West Bank on Friday, seriously injuring the child’s parents and brother.
The arson attack comes a day after six people taking part in an annual Gay Pride march in Jerusalem were stabbed by an ultra-Orthodox man in Jerusalem.
Rivlin’s post evoked a wave of more than 2 000 comments, some positive but others attacking him and recalling Israelis killed by Palestinians.
In a statement, the European Union said, “The cold-blooded killing of Palestinian toddler Ali Dawabsha, presumably by extremist settlers, is a tragic reminder of the dramatic situation in the region that highlights the urgent need for a political solution of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict”.
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. Ya’alon informed the Shin Bet intelligence agency that he approves using administrative detention to crack down on suspected nationalist extremists, officials said.
“We are determined to fight aggressively against the phenomena of hatred, fanaticism and terrorism by any side”, he earlier told his Cabinet in Jerusalem. “Our policy toward these crimes is zero tolerance”.
Thousands of Israelis took to the streets over the weekend to protest against the attacks and warn against a radicalized and violent fringe growing from within the country’s religious community.
The family’s small brick and cement home was gutted by fire, and a Jewish Star of David spray-painted on a wall along with the words “revenge”.
The injured included the toddler’s mother Riham, 26, and father, Saad, as well as his four-year-old brother Ahmed, all three in critical condition treated in hospitals for third-degree burns.
RAMALLAH, West Bank A Palestinian youth passed on on Saturday for a West Bank sanatorium after clash with Israeli troops near Ramallah, Palestinian sickbay authorities said.
Such attacks usually involve acts of vandalism or arson by Jewish extremists as retribution for actions taken by the Israeli government against Jewish settlements or unauthorised outposts in the West Bank, or for violence by Palestinians.
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“Shira was murdered because she courageously supported the idea that everyone is entitled to live their lives in dignity and safety”, Mr Netanyahu said in a message of condolence.
