IDF on alert after second Duma arson attack victim dies

TIMES OF ISRAEL – The israel Defense Forces Central Command is concerned that the death of Duma firebombing victim Saad Dawabsha will spark a wave of Palestinian demonstrations and trigger acts of revenge in the West Bank, Israel Radio reported Saturday.

Saad Dawabsha died of his injuries Saturday morning, a little over a week after his 18-month-old son Ali was killed in the attack on the family home in the West Bank village of Duma by suspected Jewish terrorists.

The mother of the family, Riham, and her four-year-old son, Ahmad, are fighting for their lives in Sheba Medical Center near Tel Aviv following the July 31 attack.

The army will remain on high alert in the West Bank in the coming days, the radio said.

Dawabsha will be laid to rest in Duma, near Nablus, on Saturday, a Palestinian Authority official said. A large number of people are expected to attend the funeral, according to Reuters.

Doctors at Soroka Hospital in Beersheba, where he was being treated, said that Saad Dawabsha’s chances of surviving the attack had been low, as he had suffered burns to most parts of his body, the radio reported.

Hamas said Saturday morning that Dawabsha’s death “emphasizes the scale of the crime that the Zionists committed against the family. The resistance in the West Bank has become a right, obligation and way to protect ourselves,” Israeli website Ynet reported.

“The only thing that deters the settlers is an offensive initiative against them, and not waiting until they reach our homes and villages. For our people in the West Bank, there remains no choice but to launch an open and comprehensive campaign against Israel, without waiting for anyone’s decision,” Hamas stated.