the skunk

Police fire "Skunk" water against ultra-Orthodox Jews who are blocking a main road during a demonstration, protesting against the imprisonment of their fellow Haredim, who have been detained by the army for not enlisting, West Jerusalem, November 26, 2017. (Oren Ziv/Activestills.org)

This is what it looks like to be hit by Israel’s ‘Skunk’

The ‘Skunk,’ a foul-smelling liquid most often used to suppress Palestinian demonstrations, is now finding a new target: ultra-Orthodox Jews. For much of the past year, Israeli forces have been using a foul-smelling liquid shot from a water cannon at high velocity to try and put down a burgeoning protest movement by ultra-Orthodox Jews in Jerusalem.…

By Edo Konrad November 27, 2017

A promise: My first time in Bil’in will not be my last

Last week I went to the Friday demonstration in the West Bank village of Bil’in for the first time. Some of the people who know me found it hard to believe. “Only now? Next week they will be marking eight years of demos, and only now you come, Ami?” Yeah. I guess I’m what you…

By Ami Kaufman February 21, 2013

Mustafa Tamimi, a moment before he was injured. The weapon that shot him is circled in red, as is the tear gas canister that caused the fatal injury. Ibrahim Bornat can be seen in the edge of the frame. (photo: Haim Scwarczenberg)

Resource: Israel’s use of crowd control weapons in the West Bank

B’Tselem released a new report on the crowd control weapons used by the Israeli army. The report also details the relevant orders of the military and the Israel Police which regulate the use of these weapons, and which the security forces refuse to divulge. In addition it surveys the implementation of the regulations in the…

By +972 Resources January 28, 2013

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Palestinians suffer from tear gas in Nabi Saleh Photo: Joseph Dana

Nabi Saleh is the embodiment of the Palestinian Arab Spring

Why is it that Palestinians are the only people in the Middle East seemingly not allowed to throw stones at a military regime which oppresses and controls them? Why are Palestinians branded as violent when they use the same tactics which the Egyptian and Tunisian protesters used during their historic revolutions? This question has been stuck in my…

By Joseph Dana May 21, 2011

The Skunk in action in Nabi Saleh Photo: Oren Ziv/activestills.org

Video: A putrid price for nonviolent resistance – the ‘Skunk’

How do I convey the smell of the ‘Skunk’? Imagine rolling around the floor of a dairy farm for a few hours and the subsequent smell of your skin. A smell so overbearing that people can’t bear to be in the same room with you. Now, imagine that you can’t get that smell two weeks.…

By Joseph Dana May 1, 2011