Toddler killed in arson attack on West Bank

AN ARSON attack overnight in the village of Duma on the West Bank killed the 18-month-old child and injured his parents, brother and another child.
Israeli police say they believe it was carried out by Jewish settlers as the word “revenge” in Hebrew was sprayed on a wall of one of the other houses burnt in the attack along with other graffiti. Authorities say four individuals attacked the houses and witnesses heard people shouting for help. Rescue forces managed to save one of the boys but the toddler died at the scene.
Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel´s Prime Minister condemned the attack, calling it “reprehensible and horrific.” Posting on Twitter, he added: “This is an act of terrorism in every respect. The State of Israel takes a strong line against terrorism regardless of the perpetrators.”
Meanwhile, the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO), the main party in the West Bank´s Palestinian Authority, put responsibility for the attack on the Israeli government, saying the government was “fully responsible for the brutal assassination” of the child, Ali Saad Dawaabsha, calling it “a direct consequence of decades of impunity given by the Israeli government to settler terrorism.”
Tensions between Jewish settlers, Palestinians and the Israeli state have increased in the last few days with settlers battling police when Israeli authorities demolished two illegally built blocks on Palestinian-owned land under a High Court ruling.
Action by the Israeli Prime Minister after the demolition has been heavily criticised as he gave the go-ahead for the building of 300 more homes in the Palestinian settlement.