Mahmoud Abbas
Mahmoud AbbasSTR/Flash 90

Palestinian Authority (PA) chairman Mahmoud Abbas said Friday he would appeal to the International Criminal Court (ICC) to investigate the morning's arson attack in the Arab village of Duma in Samaria that killed an infant and wounded four family members.

Even though the identity of the attackers is not yet known, the IDF has said it suspects Jewish extremists were behind the attack due to Hebrew graffiti found at the site. Apparently, that was enough for Abbas to go directly to the ICC.

"We are immediately preparing the file that will be submitted to the ICC," Abbas told reporters, while also denouncing "war crimes and crimes against humanity committed each day by Israelis against the Palestinian people."

The PA on April 1 joined the ICC in a unilateral move that is a breach of the 1993 Oslo Accords which created the PA.

His statement comes after the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) terror group that he is chairman of blamed the Israeli government for the arson.

The calls have led the IDF to deploy no fewer than four battalions to confront the danger of Arab terrorism in response to the arson, and also to track down the culprits of the arson attack.

Ironically given his accusations against Israel, Abbas has long incited terrorism, including his call for "religious war" last October against Jews at the Temple Mount, the holiest site in Judaism.

His Fatah faction's Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades fired rockets at Israeli civilians from Gaza in last summer's Hamas terror war, and the PA has been directly involved in numerous recent lethal attacks in Judea, Samaria and eastern Jerusalem.

AFP contributed to this report.