B'Tselem complains that Israel actually prosecuting Arab teenage rock throwers

Dr. Aaron Lerner
IMRA
09 March '10

When I read this I could only conclude that attorney Yael Stein of B'Tselem doesn't follow the news in Israel:

"These incidents constitute a most severe breach of minors' human rights," attorney Yael Stein of B'Tselem wrote to Jerusalem District Commander Aharon Franco.

"A military-like crackdown in the middle of the night to interrogate 12- to 14-year-old children on suspicions of throwing stones runs contrary to all reason, and cannot be justified. It's hard to imagine the security forces taking such measures against Jewish minors," she wrote, accusing police of breaking the law governing treatment of youth.

#1. The arrests she is describing match exactly what the Israeli authorities have done numerous times in detaining Jewish kids in the "occupied territories" - and elsewhere when carrying out the arrests could be a problem.

#2. The arrests are carried out in the middle of the night to avoid a clash in the neighborhood. Would attorney Yael Stein of B'Tselem prefer that every arrest carry with it the "cost" of a riot? Or would attorney Yael Stein of B'Tselem argue then that it isn't worth the cost of a riot to prosecute the stone throwers.

Or perhaps, does attorney Yael Stein of B'Tselem not think that stone throwing is something that should even be prosecuted? Maybe attorney Yael Stein of B'Tselem thinks that stone throwing is simply another form of "nonviolent protest"?

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