In late July 2015, an arson attack on a family home in the Palestinian village of Duma, in the West Bank, resulted in the killing of three members of the Dawabshe family, the youngest of whom, Ali, was only 18 months old.
The firebombing also caused seven-year-old Ahmed Dawabshe, Ali’s brother, second and third-degree burns across his body, the scars of which he still bears today.
Ahmed, who now lives with his grandfather, remains in Duma, across the West Bank border from his attackers: members of the Hilltop Youth.
Residing on outposts often neighbouring areas populated heavily by Palestinians (not to be confused with Israeli settlements) the Hilltop Youth are known for their extreme religious nationalism. Mostly made up of young people between the ages of 16 and 25, the group are followers of Kahanism; an ideology based on the teachings of the late Rabbi Meir Kahane.
Meir Ettinger, Kahane’s grandson, was one of several settlers charged for the Duma murders, also known as