Israeli Sources Warn: Settler Attacks in the West Bank Threaten to Repeat the Tragedy of the Dawabsheh Family

SadaNews - Israeli sources revealed to the Haaretz newspaper that six attempts of assault carried out by settlers in the West Bank have recently been monitored, confirming that these attempts could have easily turned into a crime as severe as the arson of the Dawabsheh family in 2015, which raises serious concerns about the escalation of organized violence against Palestinians.

Recently, settler crimes in the West Bank have seen a serious increase, most of which involve burning vehicles, homes, trees, and attacking citizens.

The Palestinian Cabinet has called on the international community to take immediate action to stop settler terrorism in the West Bank. The council warned of the danger posed by organized settler militias that terrorize Palestinian villages and towns, committing systematic crimes against civilians, including physical assaults, arson, uprooting trees, and terrorizing residents, without any deterrent or accountability from the Israeli government, which provides them with the necessary cover and support for expansion, in flagrant violation of international law.

On July 31, 2015, settlers threw Molotov cocktails inside the home of the Dawabsheh family in the village of Douma in Nablus Governorate.

The crime resulted in the immediate martyrdom of the infant Ali (18 months old), followed by the deaths of his father Saad and mother Riham later due to third-degree burns, while the child Ahmed survived after sustaining serious injuries.

The incident shocked public opinion in Palestine and internationally, becoming a symbol of the danger of settler attacks, especially since the Israeli investigations and trials did not lead to serious accountability of the perpetrators.

For his part, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, along with his Defense Minister Israel Katz and Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar, condemned the attacks by settlers against Palestinians in the West Bank.

This came amid the rise in settler attacks, the latest of which occurred today in Bethlehem and Hebron, causing damage to citizens' properties.

Netanyahu stated, as translated by SadaNews, that attempts to take the law into the hands of an extreme group do not represent settlers in the West Bank, calling on law enforcement authorities to impose the maximum penalties against the rioters. He described them as such.

He said: "I intend to deal with this matter personally and convene a meeting of the relevant ministers as soon as possible to respond to this serious phenomenon."