The Knesset approved legislation overnight Monday barring police use of “skunk,” a foul-smelling liquid, on protesters, in a rare display of cooperation between coalition and opposition lawmakers.

Sprayed out of a high-pressure water cannon truck, the putrid liquid is often used on ultra-Orthodox anti-draft demonstrators and Palestinians in the West Bank, but has also been rolled out against anti-government protesters in recent years.

The bill, submitted by United Torah Judaism MKs Moshe Gafni and Yaakov Asher, was supported by opposition MKs, including Yesh Atid’s Merav Ben-Ari and Labor’s Gilad Kariv. The bill’s third reading passed 11-0.

Explanatory notes for the bill stated that “although the police procedures regulate the use of water cannon, over the years demonstrators and passersby were harmed by its use.”

The bill noted that the skunk liquid leaves a stench in the air and on the clothes of those who are hosed with it, and that such liquid is not used to disperse crowds in other countries.

Under the terms of the bill, police are prohibited from using skunk or any other liquid that is not plain water in the cannons. In........

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