Israel proposes sharper punishment for stone throwers

The newly appointed Israeli Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked is promoting a new bill aimed at giving more severe punishments to those convicted of throwing stones at vehicles without having to prove the perpetrator’s intention was to cause damage.

The Israeli Ministerial Committee for Legislation will vote on the bill on Sunday.

The new bill, previously put forward by former Justice Minister Tzipi Livni but did not pass, punishes protesters found guilty of throwing stones without having to prove what their intentions were.

However, Shaked announced yesterday that the draft law approved by the General Authority for the Knesset in November last year in its first reading will include some amendments which she didn’t clarify.

The current law differentiates between throwing stones as a means of protest and throwing stones with the intent to harm, but the new law punishes the act regardless of the perpetrator’s intent.

Shaked described the law as “insufficient and does not provide a proper response to the many incidents of rock throwing that may not contain a specific intent, but cause a great deal of damage.”

In November last year, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s cabinet approved an amendment to Israel’s penalty code to enable a more severe punishment for those convicted of throwing stones at vehicles.

The amendment allows a prison sentence of up to 20 years to be imposed on those convicted of throwing stones or other objects. However, the law requires the prosecutor to prove the perpetrator’s intent was to cause damage which is often difficult.

The law applies in Israel and East Jerusalem; the West Bank falls under military rule which are more severe.