Photos by Ahmad Al-Bazz, Oren Ziv / Activestills.org
A one-and-a-half year old Palestinian baby was burned to death Friday morning in the West Bank village of Duma in an attack on his family’s home allegedly by Israeli settlers.
Relatives of Ali Saad Dawabsha, the Palestinian baby who was killed in an arson attack by Israeli settlers, are seen in the Daobasa family home, just hours after the attack, Douma, West Bank, July 31, 2015. (photo: Ahmad Al-Bazz.)
According to reports, two masked men arrived at two homes in Duma, near Nablus. They spray painted the words “revenge” and “long live the Messiah” in Hebrew, broke the windows of the homes and threw two firebombs inside. The attack killed Ali Saad Dawabsha, and wounded both his parents and four-year-old brother.
According to Ma’an News Agency, the homes were located near the main entrance to the village and the settlers were able to flee the scene quickly before residents identified them.
A relatives of Ali Saad Dawabsha, the Palestinian baby who was killed in an arson attack by Israeli settlers, are seen in the Daobasa family home, just hours after the attack, Douma, West Bank July 31, 2015. (photo: Ahmad Al-Bazz.)
Dozens of villagers from Duma rushed to help rescue the two families from their burning homes, witnesses said. The family members were evacuated to a hospital in Nablus in the West Bank before being taken to the burn unit at Sheba Medical Center, Tel Hashomer.
Palestinian relatives of 1.5-year-old Ali Saad Dawabsha stand outside the family home that was attacked by Israeli settlers overnight. The graffiti reads: ‘Long live the Messiah,’ Douma, West Bank, July 31, 2015. (photo: Ahmad Al-Bazz/Activestills.org)
According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, Israeli settlers have carried out at least 120 attacks on Palestinians in East Jerusalem and the West Bank since the start of 2015.
Photographs of Ali Saad Dawabsha, the Palestinian baby in an overnight arson attack, are laid out on the floor of his family home, Douma, West Bank, July 31, 2015. (photo: Oren Ziv/Activestills.org)
Our team has been devastated by the horrific events of this latest war. The world is reeling from Israel’s unprecedented onslaught on Gaza, inflicting mass devastation and death upon besieged Palestinians, as well as the atrocious attack and kidnappings by Hamas in Israel on October 7. Our hearts are with all the people and communities facing this violence.
We are in an extraordinarily dangerous era in Israel-Palestine. The bloodshed has reached extreme levels of brutality and threatens to engulf the entire region. Emboldened settlers in the West Bank, backed by the army, are seizing the opportunity to intensify their attacks on Palestinians. The most far-right government in Israel’s history is ramping up its policing of dissent, using the cover of war to silence Palestinian citizens and left-wing Jews who object to its policies.
This escalation has a very clear context, one that +972 has spent the past 14 years covering: Israeli society’s growing racism and militarism, entrenched occupation and apartheid, and a normalized siege on Gaza.
We are well positioned to cover this perilous moment – but we need your help to do it. This terrible period will challenge the humanity of all of those working for a better future in this land. Palestinians and Israelis are already organizing and strategizing to put up the fight of their lives.
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