Israel’s Knesset parliament has introduced legislation allowing stone-throwers to be sentenced to prison terms of up to 20 years.
Passed with the aim of deterring mainly young Palestinians who regularly throw stones at Israeli vehicles and Jerusalem’s light railway, the Bill also allows protesters to be sent to prison for up to 10 years, without harmful intent having to be proved.
The Bill won the widespread approval of 69 Knesset members and was opposed by 17, following a stormy Knesset debate.
The measure only applies in areas of Israel, including annexed east Jerusalem Palestinian neighbourhoods, and does not cover the West Bank. It was introduced by former justice minister Tzipi Livni of the centrist Hatnua party and completed by her successor, Ayelet Shaked, of the far-right Jewish Home.
"Today, justice was done," Ms Shaked said after the Bill was approved. "For years, terrorists avoided punishment and responsibility. Tolerance towards terrorists ends today. A stone-thrower is a terrorist, and only an appropriate punishment can be a deterrence, punitive and just."
Quadra Fares, head of the Palestinian prisoners’ society, an organisation that advocates on behalf of Palestinian detainees in Israeli jails, said the new law was “racist”. “This law is hateful and contradicts the most basic rule that the punishment fit the crime.”
Ahmad Tibi was one of the Arab Knesset members who spoke out against the Bill during the Knesset debate, which was stopped for a few minutes to allow tempers to calm.
“There is an order in the army that if soldiers arrive at a place where Jews are protesting and one of the protesters jumps the soldiers, they are not allowed to shoot at him because he’s Jewish. Under the same circumstances, when it’s Arabs, they shoot to kill. ‘Neutralise’, they call it. That is why a Palestinian is doomed even if he throws a non-lethal stone.”
Since 2011 three Israelis, including a baby and a girl, have been killed in the West Bank after rocks were thrown at Israeli vehicles. Israel hands down about 1,000 indictments a year for rock-throwing. In cases where there are no serious injuries, prosecutors invariably seek sentences of no more than three months in jail.
Last summer, daily stone-throwing riots spread throughout east Jerusalem neighbourhoods after Jewish extremists seized and killed a young Palestinian to avenge the killing of three Israeli teenagers in the West Bank.
Human rights groups have criticised Israel for using excessive force, including live fire, to quell Palestinian demonstrations, causing dozens of deaths and hundreds of injuries.