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Israel releases suspects held over West Bank arson attack

Suspects had been detained in raids in Jewish settlement outposts as part of probe into firebombing that killed 18-month-old child
Charred photographs of baby Ali Dawabshe who was burned alive in his home in village of Duma in West Bank by Jewish settlers on 31 July 2015 (AA)

Israel has released all suspects detained in raids as part of a probe into the firebombing of a Palestinian home that killed an 18-month-old child and his father, authorities said on Monday.

They did not provide the number of those detained in the raids early on Sunday in Jewish settlement outposts in the West Bank near the Palestinian village of Duma, where the 31 July firebombing occurred.

The Haaretz newspaper previously reported that nine people in total were taken into custody, including two from Adei Ad outpost near Duma. The other seven were reportedly arrested at the Baladim outpost in north West Bank.

Wildcat outposts in the Israeli-occupied West Bank are notorious for housing young Jewish hardliners, referred to as hilltop youth.

"All those arrested yesterday for interrogation have been released," a spokeswoman for the Shin Bet domestic security agency told AFP, without providing further details.

The raids came as Israel seeks to crack down on Jewish extremists following the firebombing and the 30 July stabbing attack at a Gay Pride parade in Jerusalem that killed a 16-year-old girl and wounded five people, two separate incidents.

Saad Dawabsha, the father in the firebombing, died of his wounds on Saturday and relatives at his funeral accused Israeli authorities of failing to address violence by hardline settlers.

The firebombing also critically wounded the toddler's mother Reham and four-year-old brother Ahmad.

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

The attacks were not related, but both have led to pressure on authorities and the government to act against Jewish extremists accused of being behind a series of hate crimes and nationalist attacks.

In addition to Sunday's raids, three alleged Jewish settlers have been placed in a controversial form of detention without trial usually used for Palestinians.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has labelled the firebombing "terrorism" and pledged to use all legal means to track down the perpetrators, but many have accused his government of being too slow to address the problem of Jewish extremism.

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