Former FM urges change to IDF rules of engagement, claiming "only this kind of change will stop targeting of citizens."
By JPOST.COM STAFFPalestinian stone throwers in Hebron after funeral 150(photo credit: TOVAH LAZAROFF)
Yisrael Beytenu chairman Avigdor Liberman urged incoming Defense Minister, Moshe Ya'alon, on Sunday to change the IDF's rules of engagement to instruct soldiers to open fire at "rock-throwing terrorists."Liberman asserted that "rock-throwing [should] be treated like shooting using firearms," adding that "only this kind of change will stop civilians and soldiers from being targeted by Arab rioters and prevent disasters."Liberman's comments came in response to a rock-throwing incident on Thursday in which rocks thrown at a bus on Route 5 near Ariel in the West Bank caused an accident that left five people injured, among them a toddler in critical condition.The Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) released a report last week documenting a significant rise in Palestinian attacks in the West Bank and east Jerusalem in February.A total of 139 attacks, including firebombings and the use of improvised explosives, took place in February, compared to 83 in January.One hundred of February’s attacks took place in the West Bank – 84 of them firebombings – compared to 56 in the previous month.In the capital, 38 attacks – 35 of them firebombings – were registered by the Shin Bet in February, compared to 27 in January.
