Speaking at national ceremony for terror victims in Israel and abroad, PM delivers strong message of support for branding violent rock throwing as an act of terror.
By TOVAH LAZAROFFPrime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu at Yom Hazikaron ceremony(photo credit: Screenshot Channel 10)
“Stones are lethal weapons,” said Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on Monday as he delivered a strong message of support of branding violent rock throwing as an act of terror.He spoke at the national ceremony for terror victims in Israel and abroad. Last July, five Israelis were killed in a suicide bombing in Bulgaria that targeted them.But Netanyahu opened Monday’s speech by focusing on the plight of three-year-old Adele Biton, who was critically wounded in March in a car accident on Route 5 that was caused by Palestinians who threw stones at the road.Adele’s mother Rachel is part of Netanyahu’s office’s professional staff. When he called the family, Rachel told him that she prays every day for her daughter’s recovery, he recalled.“If someone had any doubt, then this is another reminder that stones are deadly weapons,” the prime minister said.He added that stones are part of the arsenal of weapons terrorists use which include Molotov cocktails, knives, missiles and suicide bombs.Netanyahu spoke in the midst of an increase in incidents of stoning attacks on West Bank roads.Settlers have pushed the government and the IDF to take the issue more seriously.Monday’s speech was among Netanyahu’s most strongly worded statements linking throwing stones with acts of terror.On Tuesday, an Israeli citizen was lightly injured after Palestinians threw stones at his vehicle, according to the IDF. Stones were also thrown at an Egged bus as it traveled from Jerusalem to the Ma’aleh Adumim on that same day, according to an eyewitness.
