Palestinian family struggles to pay expenses after deadly arson attack

Palestinian family struggles to pay expenses after deadly arson attack
Al Jazeera 12 Aug by Mairav Zonszein & Samah Salaime -- Three weeks after a firebomb attack purportedly carried out by Israeli settlers against a Palestinian family in the West Bank village of Duma killed a toddler and his father, and left his mother and brother severely injured, mourning family members are having to cope with the high cost of medical care and navigating the fraught process of pursuing compensation for their loss. Following the July 31 attack on the Dawabsheh household, cousin Mohammed Dawabsheh has been acting as the family’s caretaker in Israel, traveling daily between Duma and Sheba Medical Center in Tel Hashomer, where he tends to Reham, 27, and four-year-old Ahmed. Both remain in critical condition with burns across most of their bodies. The trip, which costs around $80 each way and requires clever maneuvering of Israel’s complicated military checkpoints and permit system, has proven a heavy burden for a family from an impoverished village. Complicating the matter, Mohammed, who does not speak Hebrew, has been made to represent the family to a myriad of Israeli officials, delegations and journalists. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who visited the Dawabsheh family in Tel Hashomer hours after the attack, took advantage of a photo op with Ahmed to condemn “terrorism wherever it comes from, whatever side of the fence.” Away from the cameras, he also promised the family that he would cover their medical expenses and pay to rebuild their home. Unlike Israeli settlers in the West Bank, however, the Dawabsheh family is not eligible for compensation under Israel’s law for victims of terrorism, since they are not citizens or residents of the state . . .  “The commitment is solid,” Netanyahu’s spokesman Mark Regev told Al Jazeera. But no one from the prime minister’s office, Defense Ministry or any government representative has been in contact with the Dawabsheh family thus far or has offered any financial assistance . . . The Palestinian Authority has also yet to offer any compensation . . . In the case of the arson in Duma, no one linked to the actual crime has been arrested.
http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2015/8/21/palestinian-family-struggles-to-pay-expenses-after-deadly-arson-attack.html