Two Jews charged over revenge firebombing which killed Palestinian family

Two Jewish youths have been charged over the firebomb killings of a Palestinian family, a case widely cited for inflaming tensions in the West Bank. One suspect, 21-year-old Amiram Ben-Uliel, was charged with three counts of murder, while an unnamed 17-year-old was charged as an accessory to murder. According to the indictment, the pair planned the attack in July 2015 in revenge for the murder of a Jewish settler in the same village. Ben-Ulliel carried out the attack alone when the minor failed to turn up at the designated meeting place.

My clients are innocent, my clients have not confessed to the police! Only through torture did they break during Shin Bet interrogations

Suspects’ lawyer Itamar Ben-Gvir

The attack in the West Bank village of Duma killed 18-month-old Ali Dawabsheh. His mother, Riham, and father, Saad, later died of their wounds. Ali’s 4-year-old brother Ahmad survived. The long-awaited indictment follows months of investigations which had failed to produce concrete results and angered Palestinians. It alleged that Ben-Ulliel crept into Duma and threw firebombs into two houses, one of which was empty. He also spray-painted a Star of David and the words “revenge” and “long live the Messiah” on a wall near the houses. The two other youths were also charged on Sunday with violence against Arabs unrelated to the Duma case.

Middle East dawabshe