DHAKA: An 18-month-old Palestinian boy has burned to death after settlers set fire to his family house in Duma village, south of Nablus city, in the occupied West Bank.

The parents of Ali Saad Dawabsheh and his four-year-old brother were also injured in the attack, sources told Al Jazeera on Friday morning.

Up to 75 percent of their bodies suffered burns, according to medics in Nablus’ Rafidia hospital.

The Israel army issued a statement saying that they were trying to locate the suspects of the attack.

‘This attack against civilians is nothing short of a barbaric act of terrorism. A comprehensive investigation is underway in order to find the terrorists and bring them to justice,’ Lietenant Colonel Peter Lerner said in the statement.

‘The IDF (Israeli army) strongly condemns this deplorable attack and has heightened its efforts in the field to locate those responsible.’

Nabil Abu Rdeineh, a spokesman for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, said the Israeli government was fully responsible for the crime as it continued to support illegal Israeli settlement activities and the protection of settlers.

He also blamed the international community for silence over crimes against Palestinians.

Abu Rdeineh said that verbal condemnation of the crimes was no longer acceptable and that taking practical steps to hold Israeli attackers accountable, as well as the end to the occupation, was needed.

However, two Palestinian houses were burned at the entrance of the village with graffiti left on the walls, reading in Hebrew ‘revenge’ and ‘long live Messiah’.

Witnesses told Al Jazeera that they saw at least four settlers running away from the scene.

There are at least three illegal Israeli settlements near Duma village.

According to the UN, at least 120 attacks by Israeli settlers have been documented in the occupied West Bank since the start of 2015.

A recent report by Yesh Din, an Israeli human rights organization, showed that more than 92.6 percent of complaints Palestinians lodge with the Israeli police go without charges.

BDST: 1333 HRS, JULY 31, 2015
RR