Firebomb attack wounds Israeli father and daughter

JERUSALEM – INTERNATIONAL – A firebomb attack on a private vehicle in the occupied West Bank has wounded an Israeli father and his daughter on Christmas Day. The Israeli military said, “The incident occurred a day after Israeli troops shot and killed a member of Hamas Islamists’ armed wing in the Gaza Strip, and a soldier was wounded, and an upsurge in violent confrontations in the West Bank in the past year”.

The Israeli military said the firebomb thrown at a vehicle in a suspected Palestinian attack near the Ma’ale Shomron settlement severely burned an 11-year-old girl, that her father was more lightly injured.

Video footage of the incident obtained by Reuters TV showed firefighters trying to douse the flames engulfing a vehicle on the side of a road after darkness fell, in a region north of the West Bank city of Nablus.

Attacks by Palestinians since June have killed 11 Israelis and 13 Palestinians have been killed including several assailants, in previous attacks.

The violence continued from December 24th when a sniper opened fire on an IDF routine patrol on the Israeli side of the southern border with Gaza. A soldier from the Bedouin Desert Reconnaissance Battalion was injured in the attack. He suffered a severe chest injury and was evacuated to a hospital for further medical treatment. The soldier’s family has been notified.

In response, IDF air and ground forces targeted Hamas positions in the immediate vicinity of the attack. Israeli farmers have been ordered to evacuate the area for their personal safety until further notice..

“This attack, the second of this week, is a lethal violation of the relative quiet along the Gaza border and is a blatant breach of Israel’s sovereignty,” said IDF Spokesperson Lt. Col. Peter Lerner. “The IDF will continue to use all necessary means in order to maintain the safety of the citizens of southern Israel and will not hesitate to respond to any attempt to harm IDF soldiers.”

VIDEO by Reuters