BICOM

Two Palestinian teens have been arrested after an 11-year-old Israeli girl was left with life-threatening burns late last week, when the car she was travelling in was struck by a firebomb.

The incident occurred late Thursday as Avner Shapira drove his daughter Ayala home from a maths class. As they were approaching the entrance to the West Bank settlement of Ma’ale Shomron, the firebomb hit the car, setting it ablaze. Avner was lightly wounded, whilst Ayala suffered third degree burns to more than half her body. Avner rescued his daughter from the flames before carrying her several hundred metres to their home. She was eventually taken to Tel Hashomer hospital near Tel Aviv, where she is said to be in a stable condition, but is being treated in intensive care.

On Friday, Israel’s Defence Minister Moshe Ya’alon visited both the scene of the attack and the Shapira family in hospital. He pledged that the perpetrators would be caught and commented, “The Israel Defence Forces and Shin Bet security service know how to respond to a situation in which popular terrorist attacks, including firebombing… occur.” He added, “The battle against such attacks is complex and requires determination and a firm hand.”

Over the weekend, the IDF announced that it had arrested two Palestinian teenagers suspected of throwing the firebomb and a further ten thought to have been involved in the attack. All are residents of the village of Azzoun, near to where the attack took place. The prime suspects are aged 16 and 17 and reportedly confessed to the attack.

The attack is the latest in a series of violent and sometimes deadly attacks on Israelis in the West Bank since October. They include a stabbing in a supermarket in Ma’ale Adumim earlier this month and several incidents near the Gush Etzion junction, including the stabbing to death of a woman last month.