Rock attack
Rock attackFlash 90

The Knesset on Monday evening approved the first reading of bills toughening the punishment for rock throwers and imposing fines on parents of minors who have committed such offenses.

The two bills have been transferred to the Knesset’s Constitution and Law Committee for preparation for their second and third readings.

The first bill seeks to establish a temporary order for a minimum sentence of three years for throwing rocks. The punishment shall not be less than one-fifth of the maximum punishment for the offense. In addition, it will be impossible to convert any actual prison sentence for a suspended sentence except in special cases.

The second bill seeks to impose fines on parents of minors who have committed rock throwing offenses.

Among the methods proposed in the law, the child or his parents would be obligated to pay a fine or court costs, and would be obligated to pay compensation to the person who was hurt in the attack.

Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked (Jewish Home) presented the two bills prior to the vote and said, "Recently we have witnessed a wave of terrorism that uses rocks and knives, which are murder weapons in every respect, as we have seen. We use rocks and steel for growth and construction, and our enemies use them for destruction and cutting down lives.”

"My duty as Minister of Justice is to facilitate and assist the security forces as much as possible in this just struggle, and adapt the justice system to dealing with contemporary weapons of destruction. It is also my duty to make sure that those who rise up against us understand that there is a price to terrorism," she continued.

MK Yosef Jabarin of the Arab Joint List was outraged at the passing of the bills, claiming that doing so was crossing a red line.

“Taking away benefits from a citizen who pays taxes, I doubt if it would be constitutional,” he said, adding, “This is a new concept that is unfamiliar to me in the legal discourse of the Penal Code. I hope the Supreme Court will understand the danger this legislation.”