Teen stabbed at Gay Pride march dies as pressure mounts on Israel

OCCUPIED JERUSALEM — A teenager stabbed at a Gay Pride march died of her injuries Sunday as the attack and a firebombing that killed a Palestinian child put pressure on Israel to crack down on Jewish extremists.

Shira Banki, 16, was among six people stabbed at the Jerusalem march on Thursday by a suspect identified as an ultra-Orthodox Jew released from prison only weeks earlier for a similar attack. 

The five other victims suffered various degrees of injuries

On Friday morning, hours after the march, assailants suspected of being Jewish settlers firebombed a Palestinian family's home in the West Bank, killing an 18-month-old toddler.

The separate attacks have put a spotlight on Jewish extremists, while the firebombing further inflamed tensions between Israelis and Palestinians, with clashes breaking out in various cities.

On Sunday morning, Palestinian protesters clashed with Israeli forces at Jerusalem's Al Aqsa Mosque, one of Islam's holiest sites, though calm was later restored. 

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned both attacks and called the firebombing "terrorism" — a word usually used by Israelis to refer to violence by Palestinians. On Sunday, he spoke of "zero tolerance" for such acts.

But many have accused his government of failing to address the problem of Jewish extremism and of going dangerously far in its support for right-wing settler groups.

"Those who incite against Israel's Arab citizens should not be surprised when churches and mosques are set on fire, and when finally a baby is burned in the middle of the night," ex-president Shimon Peres told an anti-violence rally in Tel Aviv on Saturday night. 

His comments were seen as at least partly directed at Netanyahu, who on election day in March caused outrage when he warned that Arabs were being mobilised "in droves" to the ballot boxes.

Last week, Education Minister Naftali Bennett addressed protesters at a West Bank outpost where settlers clashed with police when authorities moved in to seize two buildings ruled illegal by the Israeli High Court.

On the same day demolition of the two unfinished buildings began, Netanyahu, who has only a one-seat majority in parliament, approved the immediate construction of 300 new homes in the same area.

'Incomprehensible' 

While Netanyahu and others have sought to avoid further escalation since the arson attack, no arrests have been announced.

The firebombing which killed 18-month-old Ali Saad Dawabsheh also left his parents and four-year-old brother critically wounded.

The family's small brick and cement home in the village of Duma was gutted by fire, while a Jewish Star of David was spray-painted on a wall along with the words "revenge" and "long live the Messiah".

Some have speculated that the attack was revenge for the demolition of the two buildings last week.

On Sunday, Defence Minister Moshe Yaalon authorised the use of a controversial detention procedure — generally reserved for Palestinians — for suspects in the firebombing.

The procedure, known as administrative detention, allows suspects to be held indefinitely without charge, theoretically to allow investigators to gather evidence while preventing further attacks. 

Israel has been accused of abusing the procedure to keep fighters behind bars without trial.

Many have urged the government to do more and questioned why Jewish extremist attacks rarely lead to arrests and convictions. 

"It is incomprehensible that a state... which has been a role model for how to fight terrorism and whose doctrines are copied by many security agencies around the globe, finds it difficult to deal with a few hundred terrorists and their helpers," security analyst Yossi Melman wrote in The Jerusalem Post.

According to Israeli human rights group Yesh Din, some 85 per cent of cases involving "ideological crimes" are closed due to investigative failures with no charges filed.

As for the suspect in the Gay Pride stabbings, who was arrested immediately after the attack, Israeli forces have faced questions over how he was allowed near the march so soon after he had completed a jail sentence for a similar crime. 

He had also posted a letter on the Internet speaking of the "abomination" of a Gay Pride parade being held in the Holy City and the need to stop it.

Israeli forces said they have formed a committee to examine the circumstances that allowed the attack to take place.

Netanyahu said Sunday he had "instructed security and law enforcement officials to use all legal means at their disposal" to deal with the suspects in both attacks.

"We are determined to vigorously fight manifestations of hate, fanaticism and terrorism from whatever side," he said.