Slain Palestinian toddler’s parents, brother still fighting for lives
Father in critical condition while mother and 4-year-old suffer from life-threatening injuries; sporadic clashes between Palestinians and IDF, police continue
The parents and brother of a Palestinian toddler burned to death by suspected Jewish terrorists were still fighting for their lives Saturday, as protests over the firebomb attack on their home entered a second day.
The attack in the West Bank village of Duma, which killed 18-month-old Ali Saad Dawabsha, sparked an international outcry over Israel‘s failure to get to grips with violence by hardline Jewish settlers.
His father, Saad, was being treated for third-degree burns at the Soroka Medical Center in Beersheba, where a spokeswoman described his condition as “critical”.
Mother Riham and four-year-old brother Ahmed were being treated at Sheba Medical Center in Tel Hashomer near Tel Aviv, where a spokeswoman described their condition as life-threatening.
Saad has burns on 80 percent of his body, Riham is suffering from burns over 90% of her body, and four-year-old Ahmad has 60% burns, Army Radio reported.
The family’s small brick and cement home was gutted by fire, and a Star of David spray-painted on a wall along with the words “revenge” and “long live the Messiah”.
That was indicative of so-called “price tag” violence — a euphemism for nationalist-motivated hate crimes by Jewish extremists.
After the attack Friday, Palestinian protesters took to the streets across the West Bank and East Jerusalem, triggering clashes with the Israeli army.
North of Ramallah, troops shot Laith Khaldi, 17. He was pronounced dead early on Saturday. The army said he was throwing a fire bomb at an army position.
On Saturday morning, Palestinians and Jewish settlers clashed near Qusra in the northern West Bank, trading volleys of stones until the Israeli army declared the area a closed military zone.
In East Jerusalem, some 10 Palestinians were wounded in overnight clashes with Israeli police, Palestinian sources said.
On Saturday, two officers were lightly wounded dispersing a riot, police said.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Friday condemned the attack on the Dawabsha family as “terrorism in every respect” and vowed to spare no effort in bringing the perpetrators to justice.
But Palestinian Authority President Mahmud Abbas said he doubted Israel would provide “true justice” and ordered his foreign minister to file a complaint at the International Criminal Court in The Hague.
The non-profit organization Amanina on Saturday set up a mourners’ tent in Sheba Medical Center, where Riham and Ahmad Dawabsha are being treated. Amanina, a volunteer organization in the Arab sector, works with sick children from the West Bank and Gaza.
https://www.facebook.com/Amanina1948/posts/839118426202736
The organization said that the tent would remain up until the evening hours in the hospital’s main reception area for children, Ynet reported. The children at the hospital made banners denouncing terror and demanding that those behind the attack on the Dawabsha home be brought to justice. The organization also urged the public to visit the tent and show solidarity with the Dawabsha family.
