The bill to increase the punishment for rock-throwing attacks was passed in its second and final votes in the Knesset Law Committee on Wednesday, 28 Tammuz. The bill being pushed by Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked passed in a 9 to 2 vote.
Legislators favoring the bill explain the stiffer prison term represents a new attitude towards rock attacks, an attitude acknowledging that rocks do indeed kill. The frequency of rock-throwing attack, B”H most ending without injuries, have in many ways made lawmakers numb to the severity of such attacks.
During the committee meeting, a member of the United Arab List insisted the rock attacks are not a ‘plague’ as many lawmakers described. MK (Bayit Yehudi) Nissim Slomiansky responded “anyone who travels on the Jerusalem light rail, a bus or on the road that we are talking about would not have any doubt as to the severity of the attacks”.
During the meeting an Israel Police representative explained 3% of rock-throwers are Jews and the remainder Arabs. Police Major-General Shimon Nachmani told committee members that in 2013, there were 7,886 recorded rock attacks as opposed to 18,726 in 2014. This year, 2015, there have already been 634 arrests in connection with attacks with the suspects being held without bail. Nachmani added of late there has been an increase in attacks along with fireworks, adding to date there have been 833 indictments filed this year.
(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
Join the official YWN WhatsApp status
One Response
And Netanyahu buried a bill that would allow the death sentence for terrorist.
This is what happens when you have people who are chesed she’b’chesed. They are kind to the cruel and cruel to the kind.
In an effort to show we are not like the Arabs, we are treating our own extra harshly.