ISRAEL-PALESTINIANS/TODDLER-ISRAELI REAX Israeli government condemns suspected arson attack on Palestinian toddler

Record ID: 145565

  • Title: ISRAEL-PALESTINIANS/TODDLER-ISRAELI REAX Israeli government condemns suspected arson attack on Palestinian toddler
  • Date: 31st July 2015
  • Summary: REUT, ISRAEL (JULY 31, 2015) (REUTERS) ISRAELI GOVERNMENT SPOKESPERSON, MARK REGEV, WALKING: (SOUNDBITE) (English) ISRAELI GOVERNMENT SPOKESPERSON MARK REGEV SAYING: "The government of Israeli unequivocally condemns this heinous crime as act of terrorism. We will fight terrorism, we will defeat terrorism no matter who the perpetrators are. The people of Israel unite in con
  • Embargoed: 15th August 2015 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Israel
  • Country: Israel
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVAB93LAZO3H7FEH2WAG59FICXIG
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Suspected Jewish attackers set fire to a Palestinian home in the occupied West Bank on Friday (July 31), killing an 18-month-old baby and seriously injuring several other family members, an act that Israel's government described as terrorism.
    The house in Duma, a small village near the city of Nablus, was torched with fire-bombs in the early morning as the family slept. Graffiti in Hebrew reading "revenge" was scrawled on the wall outside, the military and witnesses said.
    Both the child's parents and his four-year-old brother were badly hurt. They were taken by helicopter for treatment in an Israeli hospital, officials said.
    Israeli government spokesman Mark Regev condemned the attack.
    "The government of Israeli unequivocally condemns this heinous crime as act of terrorism. We will fight terrorism, we will defeat terrorism no matter who the perpetrators are. The people of Israel unite in condemning this act of senseless violence. And we'll bring the perpetrators to justice," he told Reuters.
    Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said he was shocked and called it a "terrorist attack".
    Israeli military spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Peter Lerner said an investigation was underway and called the attack "nothing short of a barbaric act of terrorism."
    A spokesman for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said Israel was responsible. "Such a crime would not have occurred if the Israeli government did not insist on pursuing settlements and protecting settlers," Nabil Abu Rdainah said in a statement on the official Palestinian news agency WAFA.
    It was the worst attack by Jewish assailants since a Palestinian teenager was torched to death in Jerusalem a year ago. That followed the kidnapping and killing of three Israeli teenagers by Palestinian militants in the West Bank.
    The Israeli military boosted forces in the area to search for the suspects and prevent any escalation the military said, as Palestinian Islamist group Hamas called for revenge.
    Footage from the burnt house showed blackened walls and singed family photos spread across charred belongings.
    Israeli Police spokeswoman Luba Samri said the torching was an apparent "Price Tag" attack, a reference to militant settlers who threaten to exact retribution for any Israeli government curbs on settlement expansion in the West Bank.
    The Palestinians seek a state in the West Bank, East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip. In the West Bank, the Palestinians have limited self rule, but nearly 60 percent of the territory remains under full control of the Israeli military.
    Israeli settlements are considered illegal under international law. The last round of U.S.-brokered peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians broke down in 2014.
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