Palestinians bury baby killed in West Bank arson attack

01/08/2015| IslamWeb

Hundreds of mourners have attended the funeral of the 18-month old Palestinian baby, killed in an arson attack in the occupied West Bank, as Palestinian leaders condemned Israel's policy on settlements and dubbed the attack as "war crimes".

Family members buried Ali Saad Dawabsheh on Friday afternoon, as his four-year-old brother and their parents, both in extremely critical condition for major burns, are being treated at an Israeli hospital.

Settler violence against Palestinians 'not an isolated case'

Clashes erupted in Hebron following the funeral, and one person was reportedly shot and wounded by Israeli troops.

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyuhu's settlement policy is to be blamed for the attacks in the West Bank.

"When the Israeli government encourages settlements everywhere, they’re also encouraging these thugs to carry out these attacks. This is a war crime and a tragedy for all of us."

"If the Israeli government and the Israeli army wanted to prevent the crime, they could have stopped the terrorists but they chose not to."

The Hamas government in Gaza has also condemned the latest incident, and called for "a day of fury in response to the relentless Zionist assaults on Jerusalem and the murder of toddler Ali in Nablus."

According to the UN, there had been at least 120 attacks by Israeli settlers since the beginning of 2015.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made a rare telephone call to Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas, condemning the murder of the toddler and pledging a thorough investigation.

"We must fight terrorism together, regardless of which side it comes from," he added.

Netanyahu further told Abbas he had ordered the Israeli security forces to "use all measures to locate the murderers".

After speaking with Abbas, Netanyahu visited the Israeli hospital where the mother and brother of Dawabsheh were being treated for severe burns.

The Israel army issued a statement saying that they were trying to locate the suspects in the attack.

PHOTO CAPTION

A relative of 18-month-old Palestinian baby Ali Dawabsheh, who was killed after his family's house was set on fire in a suspected attack by Jewish extremists, mourns over his body during his funeral in Duma village near Nablus

Al-Jazeera