Teargas and water cannons: RT crew caught up in Israeli raid in Jerusalem (VIDEO)
RT’s Middle East bureau chief, Maria Finoshina, had to put on a gas mask as Israeli security forces unleashed teargas on rock-throwing Palestinian protesters in East Jerusalem on Friday.
Finoshina and her crew were in Wadi al-Joz, an Arab neighborhood north of the Old City, filming a Palestinian demonstration in solidarity with the people of Gaza. As rocks flew at Israeli police, officers brought out the tear gas grenades and a truck with a water cannon.
In a video filmed by the RT crew, the “pop-pop-pop” of gas grenades can be heard as police move into the residential area, while riot police aim their rifles at the windows above.
Finoshina used the phrase “sewage tank” for the water cannon vehicle. In the past several years, Israeli security forces have used a special compound called ‘skunk water’, which was developed by a contractor to disperse protests by dousing participants in the overpowering stench of “sewage mixed with rotting corpses,” according to Al Jazeera.
As she followed the advancing Israeli troops down the street doused with the skunk water, Finoshina donned a gas mask to continue reporting, before she was held back by a police officer.
Palestinian group Hamas called on all Palestinians and Muslims to make Friday a “day of rage” and “put jihad into practice,” as Israel moved to besiege and bomb Gaza.
Hamas, which is based in the territory, launched a surprise attack on nearby Israeli settlements and army bases on Saturday, killing hundreds of people. The government in West Jerusalem responded by turning off all utilities in Gaza, declaring war on Hamas, and vowing to “dismantle” the organization.
At least 1,900 Palestinians, including 614 children and 370 women, have been killed in Gaza over the past week, according to the latest figures from the Palestinian Health Ministry; 7,696 were injured, the ministry added. The death toll in Israel stood at over 1,300 people, with nearly 3,500 injured as of Friday night, according to Israeli officials.
