Ruthie Blum:Israeli Website Records 23 Rock Attacks Sunday Morning as Netanyahu Battles Attorney-General Over Rules of Engagement
At least 23 rock-throwing and Molotov cocktail attacks against Israelis had been perpetrated by Palestinians in different parts of the country as of 2 p.m. Sunday, the Israeli news site 0404 reported.
Among the violent incidents recorded during the first half of the day alone were an attack on an Israeli fire truck near the Jerusalem suburb of Betar Illit, carried out by masked perpetrators; a family car was pummeled with rocks near Beit Sahour, during an attack on several vehicles simultaneously – with a large rock landing next to a baby’s car-seat. Miraculously, no injuries were sustained in either attack, though damage was done to the vehicles. An IDF officer in the same area was wounded by rocks and rushed to the hospital with an apparent broken leg.
Due to the escalation of Palestinian violence in Jerusalem and the West Bank, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held a special security meeting on Sunday to reiterate his call on Attorney-General Yehuda Weinstein to approve altering the rules of engagement for IDF soldiers and Israel Police confronting the phenomenon of rock-throwing.
According to information received by Israeli news website nrg, Weinstein said he has only approved the use of the non-fatal Ruger 0.22, the kind employed to disperse riots.
Nevertheless, according to nrg, Weinstein said he would continue to examine the issue.
To complicate matters further, according to 0404, a public bus in Haifa was pelted Saturday night, not by a rock, but rather by a lemon picked from a nearby tree. The impact, however, was equally dangerous to the driver. This is causing some to suggest that if the rules of engagement are changed, they should be extended to include the use of any objects thrown at soldiers or civilians.
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