Israeli forces chase 5-year-old with skunk water
May 16, 2015 12:32 P.M. (Updated: May 16, 2015 1:33 P.M.)
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 began 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 Israeli company Odortec Ltd. in conjunction with the Israel Police and
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," however exact contents of the
rancid liquid have been contested, B'Tselem says.The
rights group documented regular use Skunk water by Israeli forces, and
has accused the forces of using the substance as collective punishment,
citing instances of Israeli security forces driving Skunk trucks down
the streets of villages known for active demonstrations while spraying
the substance into residents' homes.Photographer Nazzal
had headed to cover the Kafr Qaddum weekly march, this week
commemorating the 67th anniversary of the Palestinian Nakba, when he
witnessed Friday's incident.Four Palestinians were also injured with live fire as Israeli forces suppressed the march.An Israeli army spokeswoman had no immediate comment on the incident.
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