The Israel Police has procured and is set to deploy new riot control vehicles equipped with foam cannons, pepper spray nozzles, skunk (malodorant, non-lethal weapon) sprayers, facial recognition cameras, laser sights and other crowd control tools. The information comes from documents detailing the new water cannons’ required specifications distributed by the police to their suppliers.
Last year, the police launched a tender to expand the number of riot control vehicles in their possession, with the new purchases’ technical specifications slowly being published. The police will provide the truck chassis, but all other technical aspects of the new vehicles will be carried out by the chosen company in the police’s tender.
Alongside the tender, the police have also published a list of tools the supplier is required to install on the new trucks. "The purpose of the water cannon truck is to assist the police in dispersing riots or illegal activities during demonstrations by spraying water, paint, foam, foul-smelling liquid, pepper spray or any future tool operationally approved to fulfill this purpose."
The riot control vehicle, the police stressed, will be able to travel on both roads and off-road terrain and will include, for the first time, a tool capable of clearing obstacles on the road weighing up to one ton.
"The riot control vehicle will have the ability to clear its way through road obstacles using a plow mounted at the front of the vehicle, with a minimum capacity of 1 ton." Additionally, the truck will be equipped with closed-circuit television cameras that will be able to hold against possible protestors trying to vandalize them.
"The system the chosen supplier will provide and install will include CCTV cameras protected against impacts from stones or other objects. The cameras will be water-resistant and provide color image," according to the police.
The cameras will record protesters from up to 100 meters from the vehicle, and according to the police, will be equipped with "abilities to clearly photograph and identify human faces up to a distance of 166 meters from the water cannon truck."
Furthermore, the new riot control vehicles will be equipped with aiming lasers, allowing the truck’s operators to target a specific protester directly with water jets. According to police documents, "The chosen supplier will install a red laser pointer. The laser point will be clearly visible to the operator in the dark from a distance of 56 meters at least.”