State of Palestine: Clashes in Hebron after toddler killed in 'Israeli settler' arson attack

Clashes erupted between Palestinians and Israeli security forces in Hebron, as anger mounted over the killing of 18-month-old Ali Saad Dawabsha in an arson attack in the West Bank village of Duma, Friday. Israeli forces fired rounds of teargas and rubber bullets, while protesters threw rocks and stones. Ali Saad Dawabsha death is being blamed on Israeli settlers after slogans written in Hebrew, including the word 'revenge', were found on the toddler’s burnt-out home. The Palestinian Authority stated that up to four assailants threw petrol bombs at a cluster of homes, one of which was empty. Dawabsha’s brothers and parents were also severely injured in the attack. The attack has been condemned by both the Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. However the Palestinian Liberation Organisation (PLO) which controls much of the West Bank is blaming the Israeli government and their settlement programme for the attack. The attack comes as Israeli authorities demolished two settler apartment blocks on Wednesday, in the settlement of Beit El after a court ruled they had been built illegally on Palestinian-owned land. In response Netanyahu authorised the construction of 300 additional homes in the settlement, a move which has drawn condemnation from the Palestinian authorities.