US slams ‘vicious terrorist attack’ that killed Palestinian baby

The United States on Friday condemned what it called a “vicious terrorist attack” after suspected Jewish terrorists burned two Palestinian homes, killing an 18-month-old baby boy.

Britain and United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon also condemned the attack.

A statement from the US State Department urged Israel to “apprehend the murderers” and called on both sides to “avoid escalating tensions in the wake of this tragic incident.”

Earlier, two homes were firebombed in the village of Duma in the West Bank, wounding three family members and killing baby Ali Saad Dawabsha.

The family’s small home was blackened and gutted by fire and a Star of David along with “revenge” and “long live the Messiah” was spray-painted in Hebrew on the walls.

Protests quickly erupted among the Palestinian community. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the attack “an act of terrorism in every respect.”

US State Department spokesman Mark Toner said Washington “condemns in the strongest possible terms last night’s vicious terrorist attack in the Palestinian village of Duma. We convey our profound condolences to the Dawabsha family and extend our prayers for a full recovery to those injured,” he added.

“We welcome Prime Minister [Benjamin] Netanyahu’s order to Israel’s security forces to use all means at their disposal to apprehend the murderers for what he called an act of terrorism and bring them to justice,” Toner said.

“The UK strongly condemns today’s horrific attack by Israeli settlers that resulted in the death of a Palestinian child,” said a statement by Tobias Ellwood, Britain’s minister for the Middle East. “This was a brutal act of terrorism, as recognized by Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu. We call on the Israeli authorities to ensure that those responsible for this crime are brought swiftly to justice. We also call on political and community leaders on all sides to do their utmost to promote calm.”

The United Nations chief urged also 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 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.”

He said: “This heinous murder was carried out for a political objective. We must not permit such acts to allow hate and violence to bring more personal tragedies and to bury any prospect of peace. This reinforces the need for an immediate resolution of the conflict and an end to the occupation.”

Israeli politicians uniformly responded with revulsion to the attack, with Netanyahu and President Reuven Riuvlin visiting the wounded four-year-old in hospital Friday. All three family members are being treated inside Israel. Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan said Friday that, “A nation whose children were burned in the Holocaust needs to do a lot of soul-searching if it bred people who burn other human beings.”

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas announced Friday that he would ask the International Criminal Court to investigate the attack as one of its first probes into alleged Israeli war crimes against Palestinians.

Rebecca Shimoni-Stoil contributed to this report