Last update - 00:00 30/09/2006
Settler who threw stones at Palestinian vehicle sentenced to 6 months
By Nir Hasson, Haaretz Correspondent
The Tel Aviv district court on Saturday sentenced a West Bank settler convicted of throwing stones at a Palestinian taxi to a six-month prison term and a year of probation.
In July 2005, shortly before the implementation of the disengagement plan, Elisha Savitzky, 20, of Tapuah was arrested by Israel Defense Forces patrolmen after throwing stones at a Palestinian taxi at an intersection, shattering its windshield.
When Savitky was brought into the police station for questioning, he attacked the driver who had filed the complaint against him.
Savitzky's attorney, Haim Misgav, requested that Savitzky's sentence not include active prison time, because of his young age and the fact that his opinions have become more moderate since the incident.
Judge George Kara rejected the request in his sentencing. "The offense of endangering a human life is among the worst offenses in the penal code, carrying a sentence of up to 20 years," the judge wrote in the verdict, adding that he "did not see it fit to end the procedure with no actual punishment."
The Yesh Din organization, which works to strengthen law enforcement on settlers, expressed its satisfaction with the verdict.
"This case represents a leak in the clogged pipelines of law enforcement on Israelis in the West Bank," said the organization's legal advisor, attorney Michael Sfard. "Unfortunately, 90 percent of complaints never reach the indictment stage."