A sharp standoff has emerged between National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and senior police officials, after the minister announced his intention to block police use of skunk-spraying vehicles that disperse demonstrations using foul-smelling liquid (known in Israel as skunk) and tear gas.
Ben-Gvir’s move follows claims that the measure is enforced selectively and primarily against specific population groups.
Ahead of a scheduled discussion in the Knesset’s National Security Committee on removing the skunk from police use, several senior police figures contacted the minister’s office and the committee’s chair, MK Tzvika Fogel (Otzma Yehudit), over the past day in an effort to apply pressure and convince them to keep the tool available for handling public-order disturbances.
Despite those appeals, Ben-Gvir has made clear he will not reverse his position. He argues that in most cases the skunk has been used against haredi demonstrators and Israelis from Judea and Samaria, while similar tactics were not employed at other protests.
Officials in the minister’s office said that while Ben-Gvir supports the police and has worked to expand their operational capabilities, he opposes what he views as selective enforcement. They stressed that he will not approve continued use of a tool that, in their view, is applied disproportionately against haredim and Jews in Judea and Samaria.