Ya’alon: Not enough evidence to try suspects in Duma firebombing

Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon says there is still not enough evidence to try the Jewish extremists suspected of firebombing a Palestinian home in July, killing a toddler and both his parents.

Israel has come under heavy pressure to try those responsible for the deadly arson, with rights groups questioning the delay in the case and contrasting it to the swift reaction often following Palestinian attacks.

Ya’alon tells Army Radio that Israel is determined to bring those responsible to trial, adding that he considered the arson “a Jewish terrorist act.”

Inside the Dawabsha home in Duma. A doll wrapped in a Palestinian flag rests in a stroller to honor Ali. (Eric Cortellessa/Times of Israel)

But he also says evidence was still lacking nearly five months after the July 31 firebombing in the village of Duma in the West Bank despite the recent arrests of suspects in the case.

“We know who is responsible for this terrorist act, but do not have enough proof yet to try them,” he says.

— AFP