The indictment of two Jewish extremists Sunday over the July 31 arson that killed three members of the Dawabasha family in the village of Duma has not changed much for the sole survivor, 5-year-old Ahmed Dawabsha. The boy's grandfather, Hussein, who has been caring for him since the arson killed his parents and baby brother, has yet to tell him about their deaths. "The child [Ahmed] is fine but he keeps asking about his parents. He thinks his parents are still alive and are being treated at the hospital," Hussein said. Ahmed, who is still hospitalized at the Sheba Medical Center at Tel Hashomer owing to his severe burns, has a long recovery ahead of him. The night-time firebombing of the Dawabsha family home killed 18-month-old Ali Dawabsha instantly. Mother Riham (Hussein's daughter) and father Saad died later of their injuries. The attack was condemned across the Israeli political spectrum, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to show "zero tolerance" in the fight to bring the assailants to justice. Israel has authorized a series of steps, including holding several suspects without charge -- a tactic typically used against Palestinian terrorists -- to crack the case. The long-awaited indictment follows months of investigations into a web of Jewish extremists operating in Judea and Samaria. The indictment names Amiram Ben-Uliel, 21, as the main suspect in the attack. The name of his alleged accomplice, who at age 17 is still a minor, was not released. Ben-Uliel, who is married with one child, faces three counts of murder, attempted murder, arson and conspiracy to commit a hate crime. According to the Shin Bet security agency, he confessed to the attack and re-enacted the crime, and told the investigators it was in retaliation for the killing of an Israeli settler by Palestinians a month earlier. Grandfather Hussein said he has yet to read the entire indictment and that he did not feel relief after the suspect was identified. "While this is a good development, because there is a lead, this lead must move us forward until the rest [of the perpetrators] are taken into custody," he said. He said the Israeli authorities acted more aggressively when the perpetrators of terrorism were Arab. "Did they destroy his home? No! But when the Palestinians carry out attacks, they [the authorities] destroy their homes," he said. "I want justice to be served. My family was wiped out, and it feels like I walk with a knife in my heart." Another Dawabsha family member said the indictment was designed to silence the criticism in the Palestinian street over the supposed slow pace of the investigation. "Such an attack could not have been the work of one [main] culprit," he said. "We are most certain that the actual group involved was much larger and more dangerous."
'He keeps asking about his parents, he thinks they are alive'
Ahmed Dawabsha, 5, who was severely burned when a suspected Jewish extremist firebombed his family's home, kept in the dark on his parents' death • Family believes naming of one alleged murderer is just for show, other perpetrators still at large.
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