Knesset Final Approval: Use of 'Skunk' in Demonstrations Prohibited
[57467] Knesset Final Approval: Use of 'Skunk' in Demonstrations Prohibited
The Knesset has approved a legislative amendment restricting the police to the use of clean water only for dispersing demonstrations and mandating full documentation of all water cannon activity.
Knesset Final Approval: Use of 'Skunk' in Demonstrations Prohibited
In a dramatic move to regulate public order enforcement, the Knesset approved in a second and third reading an amendment to the law that significantly restricts the police's use of water cannons. According to reports in Kol HaHadashot on 🆃🅴🅻🅴🅶🆁🅰️🅼🔴, the law stipulates that the police will be able to use water cannons "only with clean water and without the 'Skunk'," with no addition of color or odor.
The legislation, initiated by MK Moshe Gafni, passed with a majority of 11 supporters and no opponents, as published in Hershkowitz & Grobeis - The Haredi Angle. The amendment mandates that the police provide visual and auditory documentation of any use of this means, in a quality that allows for clear viewing, a step intended to increase transparency and oversight of security forces.
In News in Real Time on Telegram - Israel's Largest News Group it was noted that the prohibition includes any type of material additive, while in News Arena they emphasized that the amendment was approved during the last night. The Minister of National Security, Itamar Ben Gvir, addressed the change and said that the police are committed to "zero tolerance for public disturbances, but also zero tolerance for discrimination," as quoted in Kol HaHadashot.