JERUSALEMSuspected Jewish extremists fire-bombed two Palestinian homes in a West Bank village early Friday, killing a toddler and prompting the Israeli army to deploy fresh forces to the territory to prevent unrest.
Assailants torched two houses about 4 a.m., according to Israeli emergency response personnel and witnesses. One home was apparently empty and the family was sleeping in the other. An 18-month-old boy was killed immediately, Israeli doctors told Israeli radio and television stations, while his father, mother and 5-year-old brother survived the blaze with critical burns.
Neighbors said the parents emerged from their home in flames as two masked men fled the site in Duma, is a small village near Nablus, the only West Bank city ruled by Hamas, the Islamist movement that controls Gaza.
A neighbor and relative of the victims said he tried unsuccessfully to enter the burning building to save the boy. A huge fire stopped me and I saw there was a cupboard that had fallen on the baby, he said in an interview.
Late on Friday, Israeli troops shot a teen who was part of a group demonstrating against the fire-bombing. Palestinian media said the teen died. The Israel Defense Forces said troops shot the suspect after he approached a security fence and ignored repeated warning shots. The IDF confirmed the teens death.
The firebombing followed another extremist attack on Thursday, when an ultra-Orthodox Jew who was convicted a decade ago of stabbing people at a gay pride parade here repeated the crime on Thursday, this time wounding six people at the same event.
On Friday, the suspect, Yishai Schlissel, appeared in court, where his arrest was extended for 12 days as the investigation against him continued, the Associated Press reported.
Referring to Fridays assault, Palestinian leaders blamed Israel for a failure to crack down on violent attacks from Israels West Bank settlers.
We hold the Israeli government fully responsible for the brutal assassination of the toddler, said Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, emerging from an emergency meeting. Mr. Abbas said the Palestinian leadership intended to take the case to the International Criminal Court.