Israeli police say an 18-month-old Palestinian child was killed and several other people injured in a house fire suspected to have been set by Jewish extremists in the West Bank.

Authorities say the assailants started the fire early Friday in the village of Duma and scrawled Hebrew graffiti on a wall before fleeing.

Israeli troops are looking for the suspects.

Palestinian officials said they are holding Israel responsible for the incident.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned the attack.

“I am shocked over this reprehensible and horrific act. This is an act of terrorism in every respect. The State of Israel takes a strong line against terrorism regardless of who the perpetrators are,” he said. 

Israeli military spokesman Lt. Col. Peter Lerner condemned the incident, calling it `”nothing short of a barbaric act of terrorism.”

“We will not allow terrorists to take the lives of Palestinians,” he said.

Right-wing Israeli extremists have for years attacked Palestinians, Arab Israelis and even Israeli military bases in opposition to what they see as the government’s favorable policies toward the Palestinians.
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