Sentences of Palestinian teenage stone-throwers to be reduced
The Israeli Supreme Court substantially reduced the sentences for seven teenage boys who hit nine Israeli vehicles with stones, claiming that the rise in punitive severity needs to be more gradual.
The boys threw stones at cars belonging to Jews on a road connecting the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Pisgat Ze'ev to Route 443. They split into two groups and hit a total of nine vehicles. In a separate incident, they also wounded an ultra-Orthodox man who stopped by the side of the road to fix his car.
The seven received unusually severe sentences after their convictions. These were explained by the judge as measures necessary to create deterrence. "A stone may be a (melee) weapon, but (its use) may produce the same results as a firearm," the sentencing judge wrote in his opinion.
The boys' attorney, Mohamed Mahmoud appealed to the Supreme Court.
In his opinion advocating that the court accept the appeal, Justice Uri Shoham wrote, "The nationalistic violence that has accompanied us for the past while is severe and worrisome, and requires that the courts appropriately address it punitively," but added, "The level of punishment set by the District Court is an expression of a significant raising of the punishment bar when it comes to minors, which should be done gradually."
Meanwhile, the mother of a young girl who was killed when stones were thrown at her car called on the government to take a tougher stance.
Adva Biton said "they need to understand that a rock is a killing tool in every sense. The time has come for the courts to understand this – that a rock can cause death – just like what happened to my daughter. It's impossible to describe what it's like to bury a four and a half year old daughter. The courts need to understand that rock throwing is terror in every sense, and these things should not be taken lightly."
She continued, saying "the Jewish nation has a lot of compassion, morals, and a love of mankind. I'm sorry to say it, but sometimes, this hurts us. This is how we sometimes fall to the wayside… instead of responding with determination, we are always on the defensive, and our enemies view this as weakness.
"It's time we understood that if the other side's power and daring increase, the red line gets blurred as well. What was once a red line – is being crossed. I call on the government and for legal (officials) to be more harsh with these terrorists. I know that (people in) the high ranks of government and the legal system are afraid of what (the public) will think about us, but they need to understand that this policy of light sentencing is signaling limpness," she exclaimed.
Biton added, "We, the residents of Judea and Samaria, Jerusalem, and Israel in general, absorb this stone-throwing terrorism – which has already cost lives – every day. We need to give these terrorists the maximum punishment… This just shows how dangerous a stone is, and it’s a killing tool like any other, and it's time that the legal system and the government ranks in general understand this well."
Meidad Hassano, whose father Avraham Hassano was killed in a vehicular attack after stones were thrown at him in the Har Hevron area, responded to the decision by saying, "The (reduction of sentencing for) stone-throwers is not understandable. Those who throw stones today will throw Molotov cocktails tomorrow, and will commit a terrorist attack two days from now. (We) must create deterrence."
