Man dies following suspected stone-throwing terror attack in Jerusalem

Police were searching the area for suspects.

By JPOST.COM STAFF, NOAM AMIR/MAARIV HASHAVUA
Updated: SEPTEMBER 15, 2015 10:33
Ambulance (photo credit: TAZPIT)
Ambulance
(photo credit: TAZPIT)
A man in his sixties died from his wounds in what police said may have been a rock-throwing terrorist attack on his car in Jerusalem on Sunday night.
Two other people who were driving with the man in his car were injured when they were pelted with stones, causing the driver to lose control and hit an electricity pole, police said. The incident took place near Asher Weiner Street in the capital's Arnona neighborhood.
Police were also checking the possibility that the fatal accident was caused by the driver's medical condition.
The injured were transported to Shaare Zedek Medical Center by MDA paramedics. MDA attempted to resuscitate the seriously injured man but he was pronounced dead at the hospital.
Police were searching the area for suspects.
The incident came as the debate over penalties for stone-throwers was heating up. Channel 2 television reported on Saturday that Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan was readying a proposal whereby judges that do not sufficiently punish stone-throwing Palestinians would be denied promotion.
Supreme Court President Miriam Naor responded on Sunday, accusing Erdan of encroaching on the independence of Israel's judicial branch while attempting to violate "the principle of a judge's personal independence, which is a central tenet of a democratic regime."
Naor wrote that "if the executive branch believes that a punishment handed down by the court is too lenient, the appropriate manner in which to oppose it is to appeal."
"The plan attributed to Minister Erdan is more befitting of countries that we do not want to resemble, and not to our country as a Jewish and democratic state," she wrote.
According to Channel 2, Erdan plans to meet with Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked, who also heads the Judicial Appointments Committee. The two will discuss what Erdan says are 30 verdicts from court cases that he believes represent the appropriate punitive threshold.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called for an emergency meeting to convene after the end of the Rosh Hashana holiday on Tuesday evening to discuss the challenge of ending the acts of rioters who throw stones and firebombs in Jerusalem and area.
Defense Miniser Moshe Ya'alon, Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked, Transportation Minister Israel Katz, Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan, Attorney General Yehuda Weinstein, members of the State Attorney's office, and other security officials are expected to take part in the meeting.
Yuval Bagno/Maariv Hashavua contributed to this report.