Amid ongoing violence, the Israeli Knesset decided on Monday that the penalty for stone throwing — a tactic commonly used by Palestinians — will now be a minimum of three years in jail.
The Knesset passed the temporary law by an overwhelming margin, 51–17, the Jerusalem Post reported. The maximum sentence for throwing stones is 15 years. This new law, however, states that any individual who is found guilty of stone throwing must serve at least one-fifth of the maximum sentence. In addition, rocks have been added to a list of ‘harmful tools’ in the Israeli penal code.
Stone throwing is often used as an act of defiance or protest.
Knesset Law, Constitution and Justice Committee chairman Nissan Slomiansky was behind the bill. “The punishment for throwing rocks is far from reflecting the ramifications and the death they cause. A minimum punishment is necessary to create a deterrent and uproot the assumption that ‘it’s just a stone’,” he said, according to the Jerusalem Post. “Throwing a rock is an attempt to murder and there should at least be a minimum punishment.”
Stone throwers will only be allowed suspended sentences in “exception circumstances,” AFP reported.
People found guilty of stone throwing will also be stripped of social security benefits and children who are accused of the act will see their parents benefits stripped.
Israel and the Palestinian Territories have seen an uptick in violence as of late. At least 72 Palestinians were killed in October by Israeli security forces, according to Al-Jazeera, while nine Israelis have also been killed by knife attacks or from being intentionally run over by Palestinian drivers. While some have said the violence has been spurred on by social media, experts say that the continuation of the internationally-recognized military occupation of the West Bank and military and economic blockade of Gaza is to blame.
“One thing [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu never mentions is the 48-year military occupation of the West Bank and the growth of Jewish settlements — the realities most often cited as a root cause of despair by Palestinians,” the Washington Post’s William Booth and Ruth Eglash reported last month. “In surveys, a dwindling minority of Palestinians believe they will ever get a state.”
In September, Netanyahu declared “war” on stone throwers. Critics of the latest law say that it will not help stem the current violence but will instead inflame already simmering tempers.
Stone throwing can be, and often is, a dangerous act. In September, a 64-year-old motorist died after Palestinians hit his car with rocks in East Jerusalem and he veered off the road. That was an act with a clear intent that ended in murder. But many question whether such a punishment for the act of throwing a stone is just under all circumstances.
“Fires cannot be put out with gas and this law is throwing gas on a fire,” Knesset Member Jamal Zahalka said. “There is no logic in punishing a father whose son threw a rock…while the father of a child who stabbed his friend in school won’t be punished.”
Stone throwing is often used as an act of defiance or protest against what Palestinians view as an occupying security force — armed with rifles, tear gas, riot gear, and armored vehicles. Sometimes youth join in and are later tried as adults, while the same standard does not apply to Israelis.
“Defense for Children International, an advocacy group that last year documented 360 cases of arrested Palestinian youths, found that many were blindfolded, beaten and threatened during interrogations,” the New York Times reported in August 2013. “Most confessed, and 90 percent received jail sentences in Israel’s military system, according to the report, compared with 6.5 percent of arrested Israeli children, who are prosecuted in a civil system.”