Roundup: Palestinians outraged over Jewish arson attack as Israel opens probes

The Palestinians were outraged over a suspected Jewish arson attack on a Palestinian house near the northern West Bank city of Nablus, which killed an infant and wounded three family members.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas told reporters earlier on Friday in Ramallah that after the attack on the house, "we are preparing a full file of the crime and other previous crimes and we will immediately send it to the International Criminal Court (ICC) and no one will stop us."

"Burning an innocent infant to death and wounding his parents and his 4-year-old brother, who are all in critical condition, is a crime added to the long record of crimes committed by settlers," Abbas said, who also slammed the Israeli government for encouraging and defending the settlers.

"Frankly speaking, this crime was committed by the Israeli government, because it encourages settlement and expands it everywhere and in every position in the West Bank and in Jerusalem," said Abbas.

He went on to call the arson as a "war crime" and a crime against humanity, therefore "we will not keep silent as long as this settlement exists and as long as this occupation exists."

Nabil Abu Rdineh, a spokesman for Abbas, held Israel responsible for what he termed "the endless crimes committed on daily base against our people."

Islamic Hamas movement's spokesman in the West Bank Husam Badran said in an emailed press statement that "the crime of burning the house and killing the Palestinian child" can never be forgivable.

"The awful crime and the attacks on our people will make the occupation soldiers and settlers direct targets for the armed resistance attacks," said Badran.

Also on Friday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered a swift probe into a the attack.

"I have ordered the security forces to use all means at their disposal to apprehend the murderers and bring them to justice forthwith," Netanyahu said in a statement, adding the attack was an "act of terrorism in every respect."

Ali Saad Dawabsha, one-and-a-half year old, died shortly after sustaining serious burns. His mother and father, Riham and Saad, and their son Ahmad were also critically wounded, a military spokesperson told Xinhua, adding that they were evacuated to Israeli hospitals. Their home, in the Duma village near Nablus city, was burned to the ground.

The spokesperson said that a preliminary investigation suggests that suspects entered the village in the early hours of the day, setting ablaze two homes and sprayed graffiti reading "revenge" and "long live the Messiah" in Hebrew on the houses.

Eyewitnesses told the Palestinian Ma'an news agency that they saw four settlers smashing windows of the homes before throwing flammable liquids and Molotov cocktails inside. The villagers tried to chase them but they fled towards the nearby Ma'aleh Efraim settlement.

The Duma village, with a population of some 2,500, lies within the so-called Area C where Israel is in full control.

Police's Nationalist Crime Unit launched an investigation into the attack, suspecting the torching was a "Price Tag" attack, a police spokeswoman said.

"Price Tags" are attacks perpetrated by far-right Jews in order to exact retribution for any Israeli government move to curb the expansion of the Jewish settlements. It includes vandalism and torching of Palestinians' property and holy sites, including mosques, Christian churches and cemeteries.

Israel razed Wednesday two buildings in the settlement of Beit El, after the Supreme Court ordered its destruction because they were built on private Palestinian land. The move sparked a fierce protest.

Israel vowed to crack down on "Price Tag" perpetrators but suspects are rarely apprehended and indicted. On Wednesday, the Israeli prosecution indicted two suspects in last month's torching of the Loaves and Fish Church on the Sea of Galilee. This was the first time Israelis were indicted for attacking a church or a mosque.

Israel occupied the West Bank in the 1967 Mideast war and has controlled it ever since.

The settlements are built on lands the Palestinians see as their future state, and are considered illegal under international law. Endit