(JTA) — The State Department harshly condemned the deadly arson at a Palestinian village but stopped short of attributing it to Jewish extremists. The condemnation issued Friday was over an arson committed Thursday at two Palestinian homes near Nablus. An 18-month-old baby perished in the fire, which injured several of his relatives. The European Union blamed violent Jewish settlers for the crime, whose perpetrators left Hebrew-language graffiti about revenge. These and other clues made Israeli police suspect it was a hate crime carried out by Israelis. The statement by the Department of State said the United States “condemns in the strongest possible terms last night’s vicious terrorist attack in the Palestinian village” and conveyed “profound condolences” to the family. “We welcome Prime Minister Netanyahu’s order to Israel’s security forces to use all means at their disposal to apprehend the murderers for what he called an act of terrorism and bring them to justice,” the statement also read. “We urge all sides to maintain calm and avoid escalating tensions in the wake of this tragic incident.” In a separate bulletin, the State Department warned U.S. citizens that it “expects demonstrations in Jerusalem and throughout the West Bank due to the recent attack at the Jerusalem Pride Parade and the attack in Duma.” Six people were injured at the parade where a haredi Orthodox extremist, who committed similar crimes at the 2005 Jerusalem Pride Parade, started stabbing participants indiscriminately before being wrestled to the ground. Powered By WizardRSS.com | Full Text RSS Feed