Suspected ‘price tag’ arson attack on home in West Bank town Duma

A house was set on fire in an apparent anti-Palestinian arson attack in the West Bank town of Duma near Ramallah overnight, the Kan public broadcaster reports.

The words “Regards from Benjamin” were sprayed on the house, the outlet says.

דומא הלילה. מתנחלים מציתים בית.
נראה כמו דז׳ה וו, אבל לא. pic.twitter.com/tv6D4E8CW4

— עדי ארגוב عدي أرجوف Adi Argov (@adinitay) May 12, 2024

The graffiti is apparently a reference to 14-year-old Benjamin Achimeir, who was found dead on April 13, a day after setting out from an illegal West Bank outpost to herd sheep.

A resident of Duma, Ahmed Dawabsha, 21, is suspected of involvement in the teen’s killing in what authorities described as a terror attack.

Arrests of perpetrators in such so-called “price tag attacks” by extremists are exceedingly rare and rights groups lament that convictions are even more unusual, with the majority of charges in such cases being dropped.

A security source tells the outlet that “such actions dramatically harm the security and stability of the area.”

Achimeir went missing on April 12 after setting out in the early morning hours from a farm near the outpost, Malachei Shalom, to go shepherding. Hours later, the sheep returned without him. His body was found a day later, and the killing was termed a terror attack.

Amid the searches for his body, Israeli settlers rampaged in al-Mughayyir, a Palestinian village next to Malachei Shalom. The settlers set fire to houses and cars and sparked clashes between Palestinians and Israeli soldiers. A Palestinian man was killed and dozens of others were injured during the clashes.

Three members of one family were killed in Duma in an arson attack in 2015.