Ya’alon: We know the Duma arson terrorists but don’t want to expose them

PNN/ Bethlehem/

The Israeli minister of Army, Moshe Ya’alon on Wednesday said that the occupation authorities know the identity of July’s terrorist attack on Duma house, which burned alive a toddler and killed his parents.

“The person isn’t being brought to justice in order to avoid exposing intel sources in court,” Ya’alon said in a closed meeting of about 20 Likud members, Haaretz reported Thursday.

The July 31 attack in Duma village northern West Bank has burned alive the 18-month-old Ali Dawabsha. His father Sa’ad and mother Reham died of their wounds following week and in early September. Four-year-old son, Ahmed, is still hospitalized in Tel Hashomer hospital, with burns over much of his body, is the sole surviving member of the family.

An Israeli senior military officer told reporters on Tuesday that security agencies had “no doubt” that the Duma attack was perpetrated by Jews.

“This was an act of Jewish terrorism, and that’s unambiguous,” the officer said. He did not reveal evidence from the ongoing investigation, but insisted, “All the conjecture and speculations being spread on this issue lack any basis in reality.”

Eyewitnesses at the scene of the July 31 attack said that four people fled the village toward the West Bank settlement of Maale Efraim after firebombing the Dawabsha home and spraypainting “revenge” and “long live the king of the Messiah” on houses in the village.

The officer also responded to complaints by family members of the victims — reiterated this week by a UN official — that said the IDF was lax in locating the suspected attackers. While he would not give any update on the investigation, including whether there were suspects, he said security agencies were devoting every required resources to solving the case and catching the perpetrators.

Following the attack, the Israeli police announced they were unable to identify the Duma arson attacker, and asked for help to find leads to the suspect.

In August, Haaretz said that the Israeli Army issued administrative orders against around 10 settlers living in West Bank settlements and in Israel over the past several days, as part of its crackdown on “Jewish extremism.”

The IOF detained an unknown number of suspects, but some of them were released without providing any details.