BICOM

Adele Biton, the four-year-old girl seriously injured in a terror attack near the West Bank town of Ariel two years ago died yesterday after her injuries left her unable to fight a lung infection.

In March 2013, Adva Biton, Adele’s mother, was driving her three youngest daughters home from a family visit when a hail of stones thrown by Palestinian youths forced her car and other vehicles to swerve, causing a collision between Biton’s car and an oncoming truck. Biton and the two elder daughters, aged four and five at the time were moderately injured in the crash, but the youngest Adele, aged three was critically injured. Israeli security forces have since cracked down on Palestinian stone-throwers.

Adele suffered irreparable brain damage and was treated in intensive care for several months before being transferred to a top rehabilitation centre where she remained in a partially conscious state. A year ago, the rehabilitation centre concluded that there was nothing more that could be done for Adele and she returned home. However, at the time her mother Adva commented, “It hurts me to see her confined to a wheelchair, not engaging with the world. She doesn’t laugh, doesn’t eat, doesn’t do anything on her own.”

Over the weekend, Adele was admitted to the Schneider Children’s Hospital with a lung infection. Adva said regarding the severity of the infection, “There is no doubt that it stems from the neurological damage which she suffered, which makes dealing with all medical issues more difficult.” Adele’s condition deteriorated, becoming critical and she finally succumbed to the illness yesterday.

Her death is covered prominently in this morning’s Israeli dailies, leading Yediot Ahronot with the headline “Sad end for little Adele.” Meanwhile, Muawiya Qabha, the Arab medic who initially treated Adele on the night of the attack and remained close to the Biton family is quoted by Ynet saying, “There is no sadder moment than this … Adele did not pass away, she was murdered in a terror attack by a criminal.”