Fire in Palestinian village one year after deadly arson

NABLUS, PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES // A fire burned a home Wednesday in a Palestinian village where an arson attack by Jewish extremists a year ago killed a toddler and his parents.

People of the village of Duma in the occupied West Bank and a Palestinian official said they suspected another extremist attack, but Palestinian firefighters had not commented on the cause.

The blaze damaged the home of Mohammed Dawabsha, located near the house that was firebombed on July 31 last year.

Mr Dawabasha and his wife suffered smoke inhalation, but there were no other injuries.

Israeli police said they were investigating the cause, but that they had so far not found any evidence of a Jewish extremist attack.

Mr Dawabsha said he and his wife heard noises outside their home in the middle of the night.

“We went outside and afterwards we heard an explosion in the bedroom and saw huge flames,” he said.

Neighbours assisted them in moving to safety.

Last year's July 31 attack on a family home in the village killed 18-month-old Ali Saad Dawabsha and fatally injured his parents.

Five-year-old Ahmed was the sole survivor from the immediate family.

Mohammed Dawabsha is part of the same clan but is not an immediate relative of the family.

The 2015 attack sparked global condemnation and drew renewed attention to Jewish extremism, including accusations that Israel had not done enough to prevent such violence.

In January, a court charged two Israeli settlers over the firebombing after slow progress in the case led to criticism from human rights groups and Palestinians.

In March, another fire burned the Duma home of a key witness to the arson attack, but the cause was not clear. Israeli authorities said at the time they were investigating.

* Agence France-Presse