[AFP] - Dozens of Palestinians from the village of Bilin, along with international and Israeli activists, had marched to a nearby segment of Israel's separation barrier to demand its removal, just as they have done every Friday for the last three and a half years. The Palestinian protestors expected tear gas and rubber bullets; what they got instead was a putrid yellow wind sprayed from a truck-mounted cannon over the heads of the crowd, Israel's newest weapon against West Bank demonstrators. "It's the start of a change in tactics in dealing with crowd control and dispersing violent demonstrations and violent instances," Israeli police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld told AFP. "It protects the protestors because it doesn't require us to use tear gas and rubber bullets." Rosenfeld insisted the pungent mixture is not dangerous. "It's not a chemical, it is a smelling liquid. It doesn't cause any harm or any physical damage whatsoever, even if it gets in people's eyes."
2008-08-19 08:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive