Mother of 18-month old Palestinian arson victim dies from injuries

A Palestinian mother whose 18-month old toddler burned to death after their home was firebombed in July has now also died from her injuries, hospital officials said. 

Riham Dawabsha, the mother of Ali Dawabsha, finally lost her battle on Sunday night, after suffering 80 percent burns to her body in the arson attack. She is the third member of the family to die, the boy’s father Saad having died of his injuries in August. The family’s four-year old son is still in hospital.

“Riham Dawabsha died in the night,” said a spokeswoman for the Tel Hashomer Hospital in Tel Aviv, where the 26-year-old teacher was being treated for third-degree burns. Her body was returned to the West Bank for burial.

Jewish settlers are suspected of having carried out the attack, after the IDF demolished two illegal settlers’ homes in a nearby district only days earlier. A Star of David was spray-painted on a wall along with the words “revenge” and “long live the Messiah”.

The attack sickened Jewish communities around the world, and led to the Israeli cabinet introducing ‘administrative detention’ for Jews, a system under which detainees – usually Palestinian – can be held indefinitely without charge.