Site of Duma arson attack
Site of Duma arson attackCredit: Flash 90

Palestinian Authority Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki plans to present details of the arson attack on a home in the village of Duma to the UN Human Rights Council on Monday. In the attack, 18-month-old Ali Dawabsha was burned to death, and several other family members were badly injured.

The PA's representative at Commission headquarters in Geneva, Ibrahim Hirisha, said that PA officials would be arriving Monday to testify. Israeli officials had no comment on the announcement.

On Sunday, a long line of Israeli officials slammed the arson attack at Duma. "I have instructed security and law-enforcement officials to use all legal means at their disposal to apprehend the murderers and deal with the stabber and the arsonists to the fullest extent of the law," said Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu. “We are determined to vigorously fight manifestations of hate, fanaticism and terrorism from whatever side.”

Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked called the attack “terrorism. There is no connection between it and the right wing. This is terrorism, terrorism for its own sake, and we should treat it harshly. It's not about the Right, or 'settlers'," she stressed. "It's the right of the Israel Security Agency to deal with terrorism, even if it is Jewish terrorism. Jewish terror against the State is even more harmful to security than Arab terrorism.”

Earlier, PA officials had said that they would submit the case to the International Criminal Court. No date has been set for that yet, however. Earlier Sunday, PA chief Mahmoud Abbas said that the arson in Duma was “a war crime” and “a crime against humanity.” Israel, he said, was “acting like ISIS,” and the country needed to “choose between ISIS and peace, between Jewish terrorists and peace.” If Israel did not “change its ways,” he threatened, “the Palestinians may change their ways.”

Israel has generally not fared well at the UNHRC, which is ironically dominated by dictatorships openly hostile to the Jewish state.

In July, Israeli officials slammed the group for adopting the McGowan Davis report, which accused Israel of conducting “war crimes” during Operation Protective Edge last year. Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu denounced the decision, saying that “the UN Human Rights Council is not interested in the facts and is not really interested in human rights.

“Israel is a stable democracy in the Middle East that upholds equal rights for all its citizens and acts in accordance with international law. Those who fear to openly attack terrorism will – in the end – be attacked by terrorism. The council that has hitherto adopted more decisions against Israel than against all other countries cannot call itself a human rights council,” Netanyahu said.