Palestinian toddler burned to death in suspected Jewish ‘price tag’ attack

A suspected “price tag,” or retaliation, arson attack by right-wing Jewish settlers killed an 18-month-old Palestinian child in a house in the occupied West Bank and injured several other people, according to Israeli police.

The toddler died in a house fire which broke out in a village of Kafr Duma near the West Bank city of Nablus, Reuters reports.

The victim’s four-year-old brother and both parents were also injured and have been brought to the hospital. The attack took place in the early hours of the morning when the family was fast asleep and could not react immediately.

The house was reportedly destroyed by fire at the time the family was sleeping inside. The blaze also damaged another house, which was luckily empty at the time.

"I am in shock from this criminal and terrible act," Aruts Sheva quoted Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as saying Friday morning. "We are talking about terrorism in every respect."

The infamous “price tag” tactic, typically used by radical Jewish settlers attacking Palestinian homes, Christian churches, mosques and government buildings, in response to Palestinian attacks on Jewish settlements, was daubed on the walls of the family’s home.

She called it a “suspected attack with nationalist motives,” adding that Israeli security forces were at the scene.

“This attack against civilians is nothing short of a barbaric act of terrorism,” Lt. Col. Peter Lerner, a spokesman for the Israel Defense Force said. “A comprehensive investigation is under way in order to find the terrorists and bring them to justice.”

He added: “The IDF strongly condemns this deplorable attack and has heightened its efforts in the field to locate those responsible.”

The death of a child will inevitably aggravate Israeli-Palestinian tensions at the time when the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pursues the controversial settlement expansion policy in the occupied territories.

Just this Wednesday, Netanyahu approved the construction of 300 new homes in the central West Bank Jewish settlement of Beit El despite international condemnation. US State Department responded by a statement criticizing the “illegitimate” construction.

However, Israeli authorities have, at the same time, disgruntled some of the Jewish settlers in Beit El, as the Supreme Court has ordered that two blocks of houses illegally built on the Palestinian-owned land in the same area be torn down. The demolition sparked fierce resistance, with settlers protesting and clashing with police on Tuesday.

Jewish extremists often respond to anti-settler measures with attacks ranging from graffiti and minor vandalism to destruction of property and arson. In June, the Catholic Church of the Multiplication, erected on the spot where Jesus is believed to have performed the Biblical miracle of loaves and fishes, was defaced with Hebrew graffiti and torched. Sixteen Jewish youths visiting the area from the West Bank were detained and questioned in connection with the incident, but later set free.