Israeli forces chase 5-year-old with 'skunk water'
QALQILIYA
(Ma'an) -- Amateur photographer Ahmad Nazzal captured Israeli forces
spraying 'skunk water' at a Palestinian child during the Kafr Qaddum
weekly march in the occupied West Bank on Friday.
Five-year-old
Muhammad Riyad appears standing in front of Israeli forces wearing a
Palestinian Keffiyeh before the forces begin chasing him with skunk
water, the boy eventually falling to the ground.
The foul-smelling liquid has been used by the Israeli military as a
form of non-lethal crowd control since at least 2008 and can leave
individuals and homes smelling like feces and garbage for weeks.
Skunk water was developed by Israeli company Odortec Ltd. in conjunction
with the Israel policeand is generally sprayed from specially designed
trucks up to a range of 30-40 meters, according to Israeli human rights
organization B'Tselem.
Israeli army spokesperson has reported
that skunk contains "organic material and has been approved for use by
the Israeli Ministry of the Environment and the Chief IDF Medical
Officer," although the exact contents of the rancid liquid have been
contested, B'Tselem says.
The rights group documented regular use
of skunk water by Israeli forces, and has accused the forces of using
the substance for collective punishment, citing instances of Israeli
security forces driving skunk trucks down the streets of villages known
for active demonstrations and spraying the substance into residents'
homes.
