Barkat: Punishment of terrorists must be harsh to create deterrence

By JPOST.COM STAFF
Following Thursday's terror attack in which a bulldozer driver overturned a police car and tried to slam it into a bus in Jerusalem, Mayor Nir Barkat said he expected the government to approve harsher punishment for terrorists. "The policy toward those who want to hurt us should combine strict punishment to create effective deterrence, quickly neutralizing the attackers and returning to our routine lives as soon as possible following an attack," Barkat said. He awarded the two policemen and the civilian who helped kill the terrorists the Lion Pin, bearing the city's emblem, and thanked them for their heroic behavior.