Kalandiya: IDF uses ‘Scream’ anti-riot device for 1st time

Demonstrators burn tires, throw stones at security forces; IDF uses new non-lethal sonic crowd dispersal weapon; injured man treated on scene.

A Palestinian wounded at the Kalandiya checkpoint 311 (R) (photo credit: REUTERS/Darren Whiteside)
A Palestinian wounded at the Kalandiya checkpoint 311 (R)
(photo credit: REUTERS/Darren Whiteside)
The army faced off against a violent demonstration near the Kalandiya checkpoint on Wednesday, activating the “Scream” for the first time, in an effort to disperse the crowd.
The device emits penetrating bursts of sound that leave rioters dizzy and nauseated.
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About 50 people gathered at the road leading to the checkpoint between Jerusalem and Ramallah and threw stones at soldiers and set fire to a number of tires. At the same time inside Ramallah, a few thousand Palestinians gathered for a peaceful protest.
IDF soldiers arrested three Palestinians at the Kalandiya demonstration and one Palestinian was reported to have been injured. Near Hebron, an Israeli was wounded by stones thrown at his car. Shortly thereafter, shots were fired at an Israeli car near the settlement of Karnei Shomron. The IDF conducted searches in the area.
The IDF is gearing up for a increase in demonstrations on Friday following Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas’s speech at the United Nations. On Wednesday, officers from the Civil Administration of Judea and Samaria and the IDF spoke with their Palestinian counterparts to coordinate efforts to minimize friction and violence.
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