Erekat: Israel has yet to convict arsonists, not send them back to their illegal settlements

PLO Secretary General Dr. Saeb Erekat on Sunday held the Israeli Government fully responsible for the crimes in Duma,  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.

In an official statement, Erekat said:“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.”Erekat added that 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,” Erekat added.

To her part, PLO Executive Committee Member Dr. Hanan Ashrawi,  condemne d the arson of the home of Ibrahim’s home, saying that “this heinous crime is not an isolated incident and demonstrates that the Israeli government continues to give the illegal Jewish settlers a free hand to commit acts of violence and terror against a defenseless civilian Palestinian population.”

Clearly, there is no rule of law in Israel and as a state, Israel is responsible for generating a culture of hate and racism that has enabled the settlers to act as terrorists.

Since Israel and its army have done very little to prevent further settler violence against Palestinians or to hold the settlers accountable, we call on the international community to act urgently and to assume its responsibilities to protect the Palestinian people and to put an end to the impunity that Israel and its settlers continue to enjoy at the expense of Palestinian lives,” Ashrawi said.

Source: PNN