by Israel Hayom Staff
Legislators lament rise in violent incidents against Jewish residents in Old City and mixed neighborhoods • Feiglin: This all boils down to who controls Temple Mount • MKs urge state to increase enforcement, bolster police.
A Palestinian stone thrower
[illustrative]
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Photo credit: Reuters  |
The Knesset's Internal Affairs and Environment
Committee held a special session Wednesday on the rise in the number of
stone-throwing attacks against Jews in east Jerusalem.
According to police data, such incidents have
become a daily occurrence in the area and have recently escalated to
include Molotov cocktails.
Yitzhak Lehrer, who heads the Housing
Ministry's security division, briefed the committee on the "geographic
expansion of stone-throwing incidents throughout the east Jerusalem
sector." He stressed that while the ministry's security officers help
extract any casualties in such incidents, the Jerusalem Police was in
charge of enforcing the law.
Committee Chairwoman MK Miri Regev (Likud),
requested information about the number of arrests in such cases and the
punitive action taken against those arrested. Maj. Gen. Kobi Dudian of
the Jerusalem District Police said that 207 perpetrators have been
arrested in 2013, the majority of whom were minors, and that only 47 of
them were detained pending the conclusion of the legal proceedings
against them.
He noted that the number of cases involving
stone and firebomb throwing has spiked by dozens of percentage points
since November 2012's Operation Pillar of Defense, but noted that in
recent weeks, the number of firebomb incidents has been steadily
declining, which he attributed to the arrest of several terror cells
which orchestrated the violent attacks.
Attorney Nurit Blumstein of the Jerusalem
District Prosecution briefed the committee on the punitive measures
detailed in the Israeli law, saying that in some cases, such as those
involving hurling stone at cars travelling on east Jerusalem's roads,
the offense is punishable by up to 20 years in prison.
According to Blumstein offenses involving
firebombs are punishable by 14-20 years in prison, while throwing stones
at police officers, which is classified as assault on a member of the
Israeli security forces, is punishable by a five-year prison term.
She stressed that the prosecution always
requests that suspects arrested in connection to such cases be remanded
for the duration of the proceedings, and that it appeals all rulings to
the contrary.
Regev pressed law enforcement officials as to
why only 47 of suspects were incarcerated for the duration of their
court proceedings. She was told that judges consider various factors and
had sole discretion over their rulings.
Elisha Peleg, who is in charge of security
coordination on behalf of the Jerusalem municipality, said "the Jewish
residents are denied security in east Jerusalem." He noted that
virtually all Jewish neighborhoods in east Jerusalem have been adversely
affected by Israel's lax enforcement, saying this includes harassment
of Jewish girls by Arabs. " The Arabs wan to divide Jerusalem and have
resorted to illegal action because of the approaching diplomatic talks."
Hardliner legislator MK Moshe Feiglin said
that the heart of the problem lies in Israel's reluctance to assert its
sovereignty over the Temple Mount, quoting a famous songwriter.
MK Moti Yogev (Habayit Hayehudi) said that he
has felt the rise of violence in east Jerusalem first hand. He asked the
police whether they are reassessing the situation and whether they
would consider reinforcing the area with armed officers who would
enforce the law more aggressively. He suggested that the State
Prosecution ask that the courts to apply the maximum sentence on
offenders.
MK Israel Eichler [UTJ] mentioned that on
Tuesday night a funeral took place on the Mount of Olives during which
stones were thrown at the mourners. "The state is not sending the
message that it wants to control east Jerusalem," he said.
MK Talab Abu Arar (Ra'am-Ta'al) said he would
like to see a discussion as well of Jewish stone throwers, because there
has been a drastic spike in violence between Jews and Arabs. He called
on everyone to join forces to eliminate violence.
Summing up the discussion, MK Miri Regev
(Likud) said that "the Temple Mount and Jerusalem are in our hands and
we must ensure the security of both Jews and Arabs in these places." She
said that enforcement was not keeping up with the level of violence
being committed and said she would write to the state attorney
concerning this matter.
She asked the state attorney to present a plan
for dealing with children under the age of 16 who throw stones. "We
can't let them continue. Stones kill," she said. She recommended that
police deploy differently at sensitive roads and junctures, as they have
been asked to do in Judea and Samaria. There will be a follow-up
hearing in a month, Regev said.
Israel Hayom Staff
Source: http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_article.php?id=9793
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