Villagers fear reprisal after settler is found guilty of murder

Residents of Duma are worried that extremist settlers would seek to retaliate against the conviction of Ben-Uliel by attacking the village again.

By KHALED ABU TOAMEH
A PALESTINIAN boy looks at the damage at the Dawabsha family’s home in the West Bank village of Duma, 2015 (photo credit: MIRIAM ALSTER/FLASH90)
A PALESTINIAN boy looks at the damage at the Dawabsha family’s home in the West Bank village of Duma, 2015
(photo credit: MIRIAM ALSTER/FLASH90)
Residents of the West Bank village of Duma on Tuesday said they fear reprisal by “extremist settlers” after the Lod District Court convicted Amiram Ben-Uliel of murdering three members of the Dawabsheh family in 2015 by setting fire to their home.
The residents also expressed disappointment that one only suspect was found guilty and insisted that others were involved.
Ben-Uliel, 25, was convicted of hurling a firebomb into the home of the Dawabsheh family, killing 18-month-old Ali and his parents, Riham and Saad. Another family member, four-year-old Ahmed, was seriously injured in the attack.
Ben-Uliel was found guilty of murder, attempted murder, arson and conspiracy to commit a racially motivated crime. He was acquitted of a charge of membership in a terrorist organization.
Saad Dawabsheh’s brother, Nasr, said he was not surprised by the court verdict, although it came five years after the crime.
He expressed disappointment that only one person was found guilty.
“We are convinced that more than one person participated in the attack on my brother’s home,” Nasr Dawabsheh said. “There is evidence that more than one person took part.”
The family and other residents of Duma were worried that extremist settlers would seek to retaliate against the conviction of Ben-Uliel by attacking the village again, he said.
“Duma is a peaceful and quiet village,” Nasr Dawabsheh said. “However, we are surrounded by several settlements that are rapidly expanding. Now we are afraid that the settlers will attack us because of the court ruling.”
He said he hoped the court will issue a “deterrent sentence” against Ben-Uliel “to prevent the recurrence of the tragedy of our family.”
Nasr Dawabsheh expressed regret that the authorities did not make a bigger effort to lay their hands on “other suspects.”
The court had come “under pressure” from the Israeli government, settlers and “Jewish leaders” during the trial, he said, adding: “That’s why only one person was convicted. It took five years for the court to issue its verdict, which did not come as a surprise to us.”
The family was still “in tremendous pain” over the crime, Nasr Dawabsheh said.
“Ahmed, who survived the attack, is now in fourth grade and doing well,” he said. “We are hoping he will one day become a doctor or engineer. He still remembers every detail from that night. He knows exactly what happened. He’s still carrying the scars.”
Some Duma residents said they had mixed feelings about the conviction of Ben-Uliel.
While some hailed it as a positive development, others criticized what they called “the Israeli authorities’ double standard.”
“If he was a Palestinian, they would have demolished his home a long time ago,” Nidal Dawabsheh said. “Why did it take five years to convict a Jewish terrorist, whereas Palestinians are sentenced almost immediately after their capture?”
Another resident, Ala’ Mansour, expressed satisfaction over the conviction of Ben-Uliel.
“We were pleased to hear that he was found guilty,” Mansour said. “But what about the other settlers who participated in the attack? We hope that the settler will receive a lengthy sentence that would serve as deterrence. We also hope that the authorities would prevent his friends from returning to our village.”


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