Israelis charged over Palestinian baby burned alive

Two men have been charged by a Tel Aviv court with murder, over an arson attack that killed a Palestinian family in the West Bank in July.

Israeli settlers firebombed the Dawabsheh family home in the West Bank village of Duma on 31 July, killing father Saad, mother Riham and 18-month-old Ali, sparking international outcry.

Amiram Ben-Uliel, a 21-year-old Israeli, was charged on Sunday with three counts of racially motivated murder, while charging an unnamed 17-year-old with being an accessory to murder.

But amid ongoing speculation as to whether the attackers will ever be brought to justice, the defendants' lawyer Hai Haber said that any evidence against the suspects was insufficient.

"I doubt such confessions will stand up in court," Haber said on Sunday, "We know there's no significant external evidence linking the suspects to this incident."

The fire-bombed home and the murder of the Palestinian toddler were later notoriously celebrated at a wedding that involved people slashing pictures of the toddler, who had burned to death.

Israeli police later arrested four men for the act.

The attack on the Dawabsheh family home fuelled a still-ongoing eruption of street violence between Palestinians and Israelis.

Palestinians say the violence is the result of nearly 50 years of Israeli occupation, more than two decades of failed peace efforts and a lack of hope for gaining independence any time soon.