PHOTO: Men carrying body of toddler Ali Saad Dawabsha, killed on Friday in an arson attack in the West Bank (AFP)


Residents of the Palestinian village of Duma in the West Bank say they are forming voluntary groups to guard against attacks by Israeli settlers, days after an arson attack killed an 18-month-old child and critically injuring three other family members.

The groups will patrol the village and its outskirts 24 hours a day, seven days a week to prevent further attacks, resident Samir Dawabsha told Ma’an.

Dawabsha, the director of the Palestinian Ministry of Local Governance in Nablus, said, “The Palestinian people, no matter where they live, are being targeted by the occupation and its settlers, and citizens should beware of treacherous attacks by settlers, and we will try to prevent repetition of what happened with the Dawabsha family.”

On Friday, Israeli settlers set two Palestinian homes ablaze, killing toddler Ali Saad Dawabsha and leaving his parents and 4-year-old brother in critical condition, and left graffiti such as “revenge” and “Long live the Messiah” on the walls.

The Palestinian Authority’s security services has no jurisdiction over Israelis living in the West Bank.

Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon said on Saturday that he will support the administrative detention of those suspected of involvement in terror attacks against Palestinians, in cases where there is not enough evidence for indictments.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Cabinet ministers this morning that Israel differs from its neighbors because it condemns murderers in its midst rather than celebrating them.

Two Palestinian teenagers were killed on Friday by Israeli troops amid protests over the arson attack.