Site of Duma arson attack, July 2015
Site of Duma arson attack, July 2015Credit: Flash 90

A fire burned a home Wednesday in a Palestinian Arab village where an arson attack by suspected Jewish extremists a year ago killed a toddler and his parents, residents and authorities said.

Israeli police said they were investigating the cause, but that they had so far not found any evidence of a Jewish extremist attack.

But inhabitants of the village of Duma in Samaria and a PA official immediately said they suspected another attack, but Palestinian firefighters had not commented on the cause.

The blaze damaged the home of Mohammed Dawabsha, located near the house that was firebombed on July 31 last year.

Dawabasha and his wife suffered smoke inhalation, but there were no other injuries.

Dawabsha said he and his wife heard noises outside their home in the middle of the night.

"We went outside and afterwards we heard an explosion in the bedroom and saw huge flames," he said.

Neighbors assisted them in moving to safety.

Last year's July 31 attack on a family home in the village killed 18-month-old Ali Saad Dawabsha and fatally injured his parents.

Five-year-old Ahmed was the sole survivor from the immediate family.

Mohammed Dawabsha is part of the same clan but is not an immediate relative of the family.

The 2015 attack sparked a crackdown by Israeli authorities on alleged Jewish extremists, though most of those arrested were not connected to the firebombing.

In January, a court charged two Jewish extremists over the firebombing.

However, theories have persisted that their confessions may have been forced, due to harsh interrogation methods used.

Moreover, a string of unexplained fires both before and after July 31 incident, together with rumors of internal clan feuds in the village, have fueled the intrigue surrounding the case, as have numerous incidents of Palestinian exposed fabricating "Jewish attacks."

In March, another fire burned the Duma home of a key witness to the arson attack, but the cause was not clear. Israeli authorities said at the time they were investigating.