NABLUS: A six-year-old Palestinian who survived an arson attack by Jewish extremists a year ago that wiped out his immediate family was discharged from hospital on Friday and returned to his village.

The July 2015 firebombing of the family home in the Israeli-occupied West Bank village of Duma killed Ahmed Dawabsha’s 18-month-old brother and fatally injured his parents, who later died in Israeli hospitals.

“Ahmed has left the Israeli hospital where he was and has come back to Duma and from now on he will live with us,” his uncle, Nasser Dawabsha, said.

“He will go back to the hospital once a week to continue his laser treatment.” Israeli media said that Ahmed had undergone 10 skin grafts during his year in the Safra children’s hospital, near Tel Aviv.

Professor Asher Barzilai, the hospital director, said that Ahmed was near death when he was admitted. “We are certainly, certainly happy when a child, who arrived with close to zero chances of surviving at all, leaves here on his feet,” he told Israeli army radio.

Nasser Dawabsha said that his nephew had been told previously of the deaths of his parents and brother and had made a trip from the hospital to visit their graves.

He said that the boy would be going to school in September and returning to his home surroundings would hopefully help him start to put his shattered life back together.

“The doctors felt that Ahmed’s return to us would help his recovery, both physical and mental,” he said.

Published in Dawn, July 23rd, 2016