Haredi, opposition MKs push bill to bar use of ‘Skunk’ liquid on protesters
Noxious substance carries health risks and may be toxic, Knesset report finds; bill also mandates water cannons be equipped with cameras to deter police abuse
Opposition lawmakers joined up with Haredi politicians Monday in a rare joint effort to advance a bill barring police use of “Skunk,” a foul-smelling liquid, on protesters.
Sprayed out of a high-pressure water cannon truck, the putrid liquid is often used on Haredi anti-draft demonstrators and Palestinians in the West Bank, but has also been rolled out against anti-government protesters in recent years.
“There is support here from both the opposition and coalition — it isn’t related to which side of the map you’re on,” said bill sponsor MK Eliyahu Baruchi (United Torah Judaism) during a Knesset National Security Committee meeting that morning. “[Skunk] is a dangerous tool, and it’s inconceivable that the police still use it today.”
The makeup of the substance is shrouded in mystery and relevant authorities have declined to disclose its exact ingredients. Some of those who have been sprayed with the substance reported skin irritation, shortness of breath and headaches.
Skunk is produced by one supplier, noted Baruchi, referring to the private Israeli firm Odortec that invented the liquid. “There is one entity that knows how to create this… and there is no government supervision on what this thing does to one’s health,” he said.
The bill, approved for its first Knesset plenum reading at the meeting’s conclusion, would restrict police to using solely clean water when dispersing protests, thus banning the liquid.
It would also bar cops from dousing demonstrators with dyeing agents, used to mark individuals so they can be identified and arrested later.
“There are other methods of dispersal that we need to deal with, but the water cannon has morphed into something of a symbol,” said Labor MK Naama Lazimi. “I commend this bill that was created… [by both the] coalition and opposition, because we must say that it is devoid of any ideological stance.”
Even with Skunk out of the picture, blasts from water cannons can often knock people down and send them flying, causing injury.
Police are prohibited from directly spraying individuals at close range for this reason, but the guidelines are frequently flouted. Many protesters have ended up in the hospital for eye and skull injuries caused by water cannons.
As such, the legislation would also ensure that a camera is attached to every water cannon vehicle to record cops’ usage of the crowd control weapon. The footage could then be used by protesters in instances of alleged police misconduct, according to the bill’s explanatory notes.
Opening the session, committee chairman MK Zvika Fogel (Otzma Yehudit) said the bill in its current form has the “full support” of the national security ministry, headed by his party’s chief, Itamar Ben Gvir.
Despite Ben Gvir’s very harsh line against anti-government protesters, he has opposed the Skunk in the past. When he was still a private attorney, the far-right politician petitioned the High Court to bar police use of the liquid on Haredi protesters, calling it a form of discrimination.
The court rejected the petition, citing instances of the weapon being used against non-Haredi protesters, though the verdict criticized police for “unjustified harm to demonstrators” and emphasized that Skunk should only be used as a last resort.
Before the meeting was held, Baruchi requested a report from the Knesset Research and Information Center investigating the usage of both the water cannon and Skunk.
When inquiring to government bodies about the Skunk compound’s ingredients, researchers received no response from the ministries of national security, defense, health and environmental protection.
The report noted that the raw materials used to produce Skunk include yeast and baking soda, but the resulting liquid is a “byproduct of a fermentation process, meaning it also contains substances whose exact composition and effects are not fully known.”
Met with silence from government ministries, researchers turned to Hebrew University chemist Professor Shlomo Magdassi, who analyzed the compound with a sample gleaned from the clothes of protesters who were sprayed with the liquid.
The sample contained potentially toxic, environmentally hazardous and flammable substances, Magdassi concluded, recommending police suspend their use of the liquid.
Law enforcement representatives came out against the proposed ban on Skunk in the committee meeting, with police legal adviser Micha Frankenburg calling the compound an “important and essential method” of dispersing protests.
“Our goal in using these methods is to prevent worse injury from physical confrontation between police officers and rioters,” Frankenburg told the committee.
According to him, police have already agreed to install cameras on forthcoming models of water cannons, regardless of whether the bill is passed.
The Times of Israel Community.