Palestinian Toddler Burned to Death in Price Tag Attack

Local Editor

A suspected price tag or retaliation, arson attack by right-wing Zionist 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 besieged West Bank city of Nablus.

Further, the victim's four-year-old brother and both parents were also injured and had 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.
The infamous price tag tactic, typically used by radical "Israeli" settlers attacking Palestinian homes, churches, mosques and government buildings was daubed on the walls of the family's home.

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

Nonetheless, 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 settlement of Beit El despite international condemnation. US State Department responded by a statement criticizing the "illegitimate" construction.

However, "Israeli" authorities had, at the same time, disgruntled some of the Zionist settlers in Beit El, as the "Supreme Court" had 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.

"Israeli" 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 was defaced with Hebrew graffiti and torched.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team