Israeli security forces spray 'Skunk' at Palestinian homes

Israeli forces have sprayed Palestinian homes in the village of Nabi Saleh with ‘Skunk’* as a punishment for organising weekly protests against the Apartheid Wall built on occupied West Bank land. Human rights watchdog B’Tselem published a video showing Israel’s armoured tanker trucks fitted with “water cannons” which spray the foul fluid at Palestinian protesters.

It is reported that the Israeli forces also targeted all the houses of the village with the liquid formula.  A B’Tselem report pointed out the effects of this ‘Skunk’ spray included causing environmental damage. B’Tselem has reported that this non-lethal weapon has been added to Israel’s armoury for crowd control, even though the video shows clearly that it is also used against Palestinian-owned property.

The Israeli military has been looking for an alternative to tear gas canisters for crowd control, claiming that the Palestinians now know how to cope with the gas and its effects.

*This article was updated – for B’Tselem’s report on Israel’s use of crowd control weapons click here: http://www.btselem.org/publications/summaries/201212_crowd_control