Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon backpedaled Thursday afternoon, telling journalists to take a “wait and see” approach after asserting security personnel had the answers to the mystery of who had attacked a Palestinian Arab family in the Samaria village of Duma.
Three of the four Dawabshe family members who were burned in the blaze that destroyed their home are now dead; only four-year-old Ahmed has survived. The little boy remains in very serious condition in Tel Hashomer Medical Center’s Sheba Hospital, where he being treated for similar wounds that killed his 18-month-old baby brother Ali, his mother Riham and his father, Sa’ad.
The July firebombing that led to their deaths sparked rage from all quarters, Jewish and Arab alike. But due to the Hebrew-language graffiti found on a wall near the site, it is believed the perpetrators were Jewish, even though some oddness in the content and the calligraphic style have created doubts as well.
A senior IDF official said at another pre-holiday gathering earlier this week that Israeli security officials are convinced the arsonists were indeed Jewish and had essentially abandoned any other line of inquiry at this point.
Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon confirmed that statement, saying, “We are unfortunately convinced that the attack in Duma was carried out by Jews.” He added during the Thursday morning pre-holiday Likud gathering that security officials are convinced the perpetrators come from “one of the most extremist groups whose goal was to set fire to the area and harm many lives… much more than the ‘price tag’ attacks we have seen.”
He was also quoted as saying security officials knew the identity of the attackers but refrained from charging them due to fears of exposing their intelligence sources.
However, by late in the day, Ya’alon had backpedaled, saying the “exact identities” were not known, and that security personnel only had “general ideas” of who had perpetrated the attacks.
“That’s why we have carried out administrative detentions and signed restraining orders,” he said. “To prevent any more incidents.”
A gag order was slapped on on the investigation from the outset, and it remains in force.
