By Ben Niran

The Knesset’s Ministerial Committee for Legislation today approved a bill proposed by Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked to increase the severity of the punishment for stone throwing.

The bill, initially proposed by the previous justice minister, Tzipi Livni, will amend the existing law to cover cases in which the stone thrower’s intent to inflict casualties cannot be proven – as in cases of attacks on buses or police vehicles, when the aim may be “merely” to harass or draw attention.

Shaked’s aim is to diminish the current disparity between the maximum punishment stipulated by law (20 years) and the relatively light sentences given in practice – a result of the difficulty in proving intent. The new bill will make it possible to convict stone throwers without proving their intent to injure; the penalty in these cases will be up to 10 years in prison.