Rock throwers
Rock throwersIsrael news photo: Flash 90

The Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee's Subcommittee on Judea and Samaria was told Wednesday that Arab rock attacks on Jews were 2.5 times more frequent in 2012 than in 2011, and that the numbers for 2013 are 3.5 times larger than those of 2011.

The average number of rock attacks per month in Judea and Samaria is currently 54, the military said.

Firebomb attacks againstg civilians were up more than fourfold. In 2011, 17 firebombs were thrown at civilians. In 2012, the number was up to 74, and the frequency continues to rise in 2013.

Terrorist acts against the Jewish communities were up to 58 in 2012 from 19 in 2011 -- a threefold rise.

Gershon Mesika, Head of the Samaria (Shomron) Regional Council asked that IDF soldiers be allowed to respond forcefully to rock attacks and surging terror. Forcing soldiers to restrain themselves will incresase the confidence of the terrorists and cause the terror to spread to Tel Aviv and Haifa, he warned.

He also asked that roadblocks inside Judea and Samaria be restored.

The Mayor of Beit El, Moshe Rosenboim, said that IDF soldiers have been told to fire at the legs of marauders who throw rocks. 

MK Moti Yogev, who chairs the committee, said that Major General Nitzan Alon, Commander of Judea and Samaria Division, was "attentive to the needs of the settlers" and said that there will be additional meetings between the committee members, the military and representatives of the Jewish settlers.

MK Yogev said after the session that it was time to end the policy of "containment" of Arab terror by the IDF.