Rock Throwing Injured Her Baby and Changed Her Life Forever

A few days ago, Adva Biton testified at the trial of a Palestinian minor accused of throwing the rocks that put her three year-old daughter Adele in a hospital until today. Her life, she told the court, changed dramatically on that tragic night.

In March 2013, Adva Biton was driving with her three daughters on her way home near Ariel. As she was driving, a Palestinian minor threw rocks at the truck in front of her car. The truck stopped suddenly and Adva did not have time to react. She collided directly with the truck. Adva’s five- and four-year-old daughters were lightly injured, but her three-year-old old daughter Adele was injured critically.

Adele Biton

“All her joy, all her life was taken from her at the age of three,” Adva said during her testimony in court. Her baby remains in the hospital until today, and requires the constant presence of Adva or her husband. “I am not home anymore, I am not available for my three kids,” she said. “I’m supposed to be a mother but I live in Levenstein Hospital. My husband has not really been home in over 10 months. He doesn’t sleep at home at all. It’s like you have no family.”

“To see a child connected to a million pipes is very difficult. Her life has been destroyed because of rock throwing. It is difficult for me to cope with the fact that my daughter will be handicapped in every way because of such an act. It’s a daily trauma when you see your child gasping with her head hanging down and you can’t do anything.”

In 2013, Palestinians directed more than 2,400 rock throwing incidents at Israelis. Of these, 30 percent were directed at civilian vehicles. 116 civilians were injured due to these incidents. They may appear inoffensive, but rocks threaten lives. Adele’s story is only one of many stories of civilians injured in rock throwing attacks.