Israeli police have confirmed the arrest of four Palestinian schoolboys, reportedly aged 11 years old, for throwing stones at police on patrol near Jerusalem's Old City. In video posted on social media, the young boys are seen crying as armed Israeli forces hold them. The children are seen continuing to cry as they are led away in a police van. Israeli Police spokesman Mickey Rosenfeld told the ABC the four young children were questioned and then arrested for stone throwing. Hundreds of extra Israeli police have been deployed across Jerusalem in recent days, following clashes at al-Aqsa Mosque and incidents of Palestinians throwing stones at Israeli cars. On Sunday, Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu introduced measures into cabinet that allow police to use live ammunition on stone-throwers inside Jerusalem, giving them the same authority as soldiers in the occupied West Bank. "Stones and firebombs are deadly weapons; they kill and have killed," the prime minister told reporters after a special meeting to discuss security in Jerusalem and the new measures. Israeli human rights organisations have condemned the move as "illegal" and "immoral". In July, a 17-year-old Palestinian boy threw stones at an Israeli military vehicle near Ramallah in the West Bank, the commander got out and shot him in the back of the head, killing him instantly. Last week in Jerusalem, a 64-year-old Israeli man lost control of his car and was killed after rocks allegedly thrown by Palestinians smashed through his windscreen.
