PLO Secretary General Dr. Saeb Erekat on the attack against Ibrahim Dawabsheh’ Home in Duma

The people of Duma are reeling this morning following the latest terrorist attack against Duma resident, Ibrahim Dawabsheh, the sole surviving witness of last July’s terrorist attack which left three members of the Dawabsheh family dead as a result of arson, including 18-month-old Ali.  

Ibrahim Dawabsheh and his wife were rushed to a hospital in Nablus following smoke inhalation as a result of their home being lit on fire in the early morning hours on Sunday.

We hold the Israeli Government fully responsible for the crimes in Duma. Israel has yet to convict those responsible for the murders of Saad, Reham, and Ali Dawabsheh, instead choosing to send violent murderers back to the illegal settlements where they live, and place them under house arrest. This has become common practice by the Israeli government, as was the case in the 2014 gruesome murder of 16-year-old Mohammed Abu Khdeir, whose murderers were held under house arrest or in a mental facility, with little or no security supervision.

Israel’s disregard for the gravity of these atrocious crimes reflects both the Israeli culture of impunity and the international community’s free license granted to Israel to systematically disregard international law.  The Israeli prolonged belligerent occupation, colonization, and transfer 650,000 Israeli citizens into the occupied State of Palestine is part of a comprehensive system of continued oppression and subjugation perpetuated by the international community.

While we wait for another sham investigation to determine the source of this morning’s attack on another civilian family in Duma, we invite the international community to ensure that Israel upholds its obligations as the occupying power to provide security and protection for the Palestinian civilian population it occupies. We reiterate our calls for international protection and an immediate international intervention in order to end the Israeli occupation and achieve the long overdue inalienable rights of the Palestinian people.