{"id":66220,"date":"2015-11-09T12:00:24","date_gmt":"2015-11-09T12:00:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/?p=66220"},"modified":"2015-11-09T11:13:58","modified_gmt":"2015-11-09T11:13:58","slug":"israel-will-imprison-stone-throwers-for-3-years-strip-them-or-their-parents-of-social-security","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/2015\/11\/israel-will-imprison-stone-throwers-for-3-years-strip-them-or-their-parents-of-social-security\/","title":{"rendered":"Israel Will Imprison Stone-Throwers for 3 Years, Strip Them or Their Parents of Social Security"},"content":{"rendered":"

3 Nov 2015 –<\/em> Amid ongoing violence, the Israeli Knesset decided on Monday [2 Nov] that the penalty for stone throwing \u2014 a tactic commonly used by Palestinians \u2014 will now be a minimum of three years in jail.<\/p>\n

\"Israeli<\/a>

Israeli border police deploy during clashes with Palestinian students in Abu Dis,West Bank, Monday, Nov. 2, 2015.
CREDIT: AP Photo\/Mahmoud Illean<\/p><\/div>\n

The Knesset passed the temporary law by an overwhelming margin, 51-17, the Jerusalem Post reported<\/a>. 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 \u2018harmful tools\u2019 in the Israeli penal code.<\/p>\n

Knesset Law, Constitution and Justice Committee chairman Nissan Slomiansky was behind the bill. \u201cThe 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 \u2018it\u2019s just a stone\u2019,\u201d he said, according <\/a>to the Jerusalem Post. \u201cThrowing a rock is an attempt to murder and there should at least be a minimum punishment.\u201d<\/p>\n

Stone throwers will only be allowed suspended sentences in \u201cexception circumstances,\u201d AFP reported<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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<\/a> 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.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne thing [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu never mentions is the 48-year military occupation of the West Bank and the growth of Jewish settlements \u2014 the realities most often cited as a root cause of despair by Palestinians,\u201d the Washington Post\u2019s William Booth and Ruth Eglash reported<\/a> last month. \u201cIn surveys, a dwindling minority of Palestinians believe they will ever get a state.\u201d<\/p>\n

In September, Netanyahu declared \u201cwar\u201d<\/a> 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.<\/p>\n

httpv:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=JRQd_flYkaw<\/p>\n

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<\/a> 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.<\/p>\n

\u201cFires cannot be put out with gas and this law is throwing gas on a fire,\u201d Knesset Member Jamal Zahalka said. \u201cThere is no logic in punishing a father whose son threw a rock\u2026while the father of a child who stabbed his friend in school won\u2019t be punished.\u201d<\/p>\n

Stone throwing is often used as an act of defiance or protest against what Palestinians view as an occupying security force \u2014 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<\/a> to Israelis.<\/p>\n

\u201cDefense 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,\u201d the New York Times reported in August 2013. \u201cMost confessed, and 90 percent received jail sentences in Israel\u2019s military system, according to the report, compared with 6.5 percent of arrested Israeli children, who are prosecuted in a civil system.\u201d<\/p>\n

Go to Original \u2013 thinkprogress.org<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

3 Nov 2015 – Amid ongoing violence, the Israeli Knesset decided on Monday [2 Nov] that the penalty for stone throwing \u2014 a tactic commonly used by Palestinians \u2014 will now be a minimum of three years in jail. Stone throwing is often used as an act of defiance or protest.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[54],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-66220","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-palestine-israel-gaza-genocide"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/66220","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=66220"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/66220\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=66220"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=66220"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=66220"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}