On Thursday night, an arson attack on a Palestinian house in the West Bank — a territory disputed by Israel and Palestine — resulted in the death of a toddler while the rest of the family sustained serious injuries. Survivors of the attack were transported to an Israeli hospital.
"The cold-blooded killing of a Palestinian toddler… presumably by extremist settlers, is a tragic reminder of the dramatic situation in the region that highlights the urgent need for a political solution of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict," the statement said.
The service expressed its condolences to the family who suffered the attack and called on Israel to take immediate action to protect the inhabitants of the area.
The conflict in the region started in 1967 when Israel occupied the territories of the West Bank and Gaza Strip in the Six-Day War. Israel continues to build settlements there despite the majority of the international community, including the European Union, not recognizing the occupied territories as legally belonging to Israel. Palestinians seek the creation of an independent state on the territories of the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip.
