The Stone is a Weapon

The stone was considered a very effective weapon during the First Intifada. Now a new campaign wants to revive the myth and make the use of stones as a weapon legitimate.

The Palestinian Authority incites its citizens to attack Israeli soldiers with large stones or cinder blocks. With eye-catching imagery, the Palestinian Authority is spreading the message across the social networks: “If you don’t have a gun, pick up a stone.”

اذا تعذر وجود السلاح يجوز التيمم بـ طوبة#فلسطين pic.twitter.com/cMHhNVr4bM

— محمد غندور (@mohdgandour) May 12, 2020

Yoni Ben Menachem, senior Middle East analyst at the Jerusalem Center, says that throwing stones is part of the strategy of Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas. He argued that stone-throwing attacks, protests, roadblocks and Molotov cocktails were part of what the Palestinian leader calls “peaceful resistance,” on the grounds that no firearms were used.

This incitement is already bearing fruit. On Wednesday morning, a group of Israeli soldiers were attacked with stones in the Al-Fawwar refugee camp near Hebron. A day earlier, an Israeli girl in Samaria was slightly injured by stone-throwers and Israeli vehicles were attacked with Molotov cocktails in both north and south of Jerusalem.

The stone-throwing campaign began to spread following the murder of 21-year-old Israeli soldier Amit Ben Yigal in the northern part of Samaria last weekend. The latest stone-throwing attacks appear to also be linked with the visit of US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Israel’s plan to annex parts of Judea and Samaria. (See: The Real Reason for Pompeo’s Quick Visit to Israel)