UN Security Council slams ‘deplorable’ attack that killed Palestinian baby

Statement following murder of 18-month-old Ali Saad Dawabsha urges all sides to lower tensions, seek peace

By ToI Staff 1 August 2015, 10:31 am

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A relative holds up a photo of a one-and-a-half year old boy, Ali Dawabsha, in the family house torched in a suspected attack by Jewish terrorists in Duma village near the West Bank city of Nablus, Friday, July 31, 2015. The boy died in the fire, his parents, badly hurt, also later died. (AP Photo/Majdi Mohammed)

The United Nations Security Council late Friday condemned the firebomb attack on a Palestinian house by suspected Jewish terrorists that killed a baby and left his family with severe burns.

“The members of the Security Council expressed profound outrage and condemned in the strongest terms the viscous arson attack in the village of Duma near Nablus which killed Palestinian toddler, Ali, and injured his family members,” the Security Council said in a statement.

The Security Council members also “underlined the need to bring the perpetrators of this deplorable act to justice,” and urged “all sides to work to lower tension, reject violence, avoid all provocations, and seek a path toward peace.”

Ali Saad Dawabsha, aged 18 months, was killed when his family’s home in the West Bank was set alight in the early hours of Friday morning. His mother, father and four-year-old brother are being treated in Israeli hospitals.

The attack has drawn widespread condemnation inside Israel and around the world.

Palestinians carry the body of one-and-a-half year old Ali Dawabsha during his funeral in Duma village near the West Bank city of Nablus, Friday, July 31, 2015. The infant was burned to death in an apparent 'price tag' attack by Jewish terrorists. (AP Photo/Majdi Mohammed) — Palestinians carry the body of one-and-a-half year old Ali Dawabsha during his funeral in Duma village near the West Bank city of Nablus, Friday, July 31, 2015. The infant was burned to death in an apparent ‘price tag’ attack by Jewish terrorists. (AP Photo/Majdi Mohammed)

President Reuven Rivlin and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu both visited the injured four-year-old boy in hospital on Friday, and vowed that Israel would catch those responsible. Netanyahu called the attack a “horrific, heinous” crime that is “a terror attack in every respect.”

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas held the Israeli government responsible for the attack and said he would refer it to the International Criminal Court as an Israeli war crime.

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Friday urged both sides to avoid further exacerbating the situation.

“The Secretary-General strongly condemns today’s murder of a Palestinian child in the West Bank and calls for the perpetrators of this terrorist act to be promptly brought to justice. He expresses his deepest condolences to the family of Ali Dawabsha, who were themselves severely injured in the arson attack,” said a statement from his office. “Continued failures to effectively address impunity for repeated acts of settler violence have led to another horrific incident involving the death of an innocent life. This must end.

The burned-down home of the Dawabsha family in the Palestinian village of Duma, near Nablus, July 31, 2015 (Zacharia Sadeh/Rabbis for Human Rights)

“The Secretary-General reiterates his call on all parties to ensure that tensions do not escalate further, leading to more loss of life.”

The UN’s Special Coordinator for the Middle East peace process, Nickolay Mladenov, also said he was “outraged by today’s vicious arson attack by suspected Jewish extremists,” and called for “a full and prompt investigation to bring the perpetrators of this terrorist crime to justice.”