Netanyahu calls Abbas after toddler murder

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made an unusual phone call to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Friday, telling him everyone in Israel is "shocked" by the murder of a Palestinian toddler.

Netanyahu promised Abbas a thorough investigation of the arson attack on Dawabsha's family, in which 18-month-old Ali Saad Dawabsha was killed and his parents and brother critically wounded.

"I spoke to President Abu Mazen (Abbas) right before I entered the hospital. I told him of this visit and of Israel's absolute commitment to find the perpetrators, bring them to justice," Netanyahu said in a statement to press.

"We have to calm the spirits and recommit ourselves to our joint battle against terrorism and extremism," he said.

Netanyahu visited late Ali's four-year old brother Ahmed Sa'ed, who is being treated along with his mother in Israel's Tel HaShomer hospital. He promised to give him and his parents the best treatment to save their lives.

The father of the family is being treated at Soroka Hospital in Be'er Sheva.

Israeli President Reuven Rivlin also visited Ahmed Sa'ed on Friday afternoon.

"I feel a sense of shame, and moreover a sense of pain," Rivlin said in a statement. "It must be understood by both sides that terror cannot be allowed in our region."

Clashes and protests erupted in the West Bank and East Jerusalem on Friday after the arson attack, giving rise to intense fears of further escalation.

An Israeli policeman was lightly injured by a stone hurled at him in East Jerusalem, during a riot near the Temple Mount, Army Radio reported. Riots were also reported at Kalandia checkpoint and Issawiya, an Arab village in East Jerusalem.

Two Israelis were fired upon from a passing vehicle in the West Bank Friday afternoon while driving to Jerusalem, no one was injured. Endit