According to the report, a temporary order issued by the Israeli government last week which set a minimum sentence of four years for throwing stones and firebombs is likely to continue the courts' discrimination against Palestinian offenders, who are more likely to be found guilty, and given long prison sentences for throwing stones.
"A stone can kill, that’s true," attorney Mohammad Mahmoud, who is representing many of the recent arrestees in East Jerusalem, told Haaretz.
"But any stone can kill, not just a stone thrown by an Arab. The penalties on minors from East Jerusalem are harsh and don’t solve a problem, they only make it worse."
While Jews receive a sentence of less than three months if found guilty, Arabs, including minors, are much more likely to get sentences that approach or exceed a year.
"I have a 14-year-old about whom we agreed with the prosecution for a 10-month sentence for throwing a firebomb that didn’t hit anything," said Mahmoud.
"Two weeks ago a 16-year-old client got 10 months in prison for throwing a stone at a bus. Today the punishment is very harsh for minors."
Jews throw stones too, but Arabs get harsher sentences http://t.co/EhJeegByrC pic.twitter.com/vk0cl2aeth
— Haaretz.com (@haaretzcom) 29 сентября 2015
Of the 200 minors from East Jerusalem who are currently in Ofek juvenile prison, most are being held on charges of disturbing the peace. Seventy are serving time for throwing stones at security forces and their vehicles, Haaretz reported. In cases involving Jewish minors, most cases are resolved before the case comes to court.
In contrast to the harsh sentences handed down to Arabs, the newspaper reported several examples of lenient sentencing for ultra-Orthodox offenders found guilty of attacking police.
One man was sentenced to seven months in prison for hitting a policeman in the face with a stone the size of a fist, and another was given six months community service for attacking the police during a demonstration.
