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Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on Sunday, 7 Tishrei, held another security briefing to address the continued escalation of Arab terror in Yerushalayim and other areas. This includes the sharp increase in rock-throwing and firebombs in the Old City, the southeastern neighborhoods of the capital, and areas of Yehuda and Shomron.

PM Netanyahu stated, “Stones and firebombs are deadly weapons; they kill and have killed. Therefore, in recent days we have changed the open-fire orders for police in Jerusalem. Already over the weekend they used the new measures under the new orders and immediately hit those throwing stones and firebombs. Today we will facilitate an additional expansion of the ability of the police to foil the throwing of stones and firebombs and we will continue to add forces in order to strike at rioters under a simple principle that we will begin to implement around and within its borders: Whoever tries to attack us, we will hurt him.

“We have also started to quickly advance legislation to impose fines on the parents of minors who throw stones and firebombs. No less important in my view is the advancing of legislation to set minimum punishments for those who throw stones, firebombs and fireworks. We cannot accept the principle that in Jerusalem our capital, or in any part of the State of Israel, in the Galil or in the Negev, that people will organize terrorism and begin to stone passing cars or throw stones and murder people. This norm will not be established here; rather an opposite norm will – we will act against you and stop you, and we will punish you with the full force of the law. We seek to instill this norm for all Israeli citizens, residents and those under Israel’s jurisdiction. With all due respect to the courts, it is our right and our duty to establish this norm; just as we did in regard to sex crimes, we will set minimum punishments for those who throw stones and firebombs.

“I would like to take this opportunity to express deep appreciation for the police. It is fighting against these phenomena under conditions that are not simple. The Public Security Minister and I visited with the police. I was impressed by their determination and their readiness to act and I thought that it would be proper for the government to allow the police to act in order to protect Israel’s citizens…”

Among the steps announced before Shabbos was the call up of a border police reserves company to be deployed in the capital as police and border police are stepping up manpower ahead of Yom Kippur and Sukkos.

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)