Watching Israel:

What are news and editorials saying about Israel?

Israel's new secret weapon:

Before long, the military calls in one of its most dreaded weapons.

A white armored truck rumbles toward the scene. Protesters dive for cover as a small cannon on the vehicle's roof takes aim and fires — not bullets or tear gas, but a heavy stream of the foulest-smelling liquid imaginable.

Is it the sickly sweet odor of decomposing flesh? A trash dump on a hot day? Vomit? Those who've been doused wax on in vain, trying to find a worthy description for the stench that won't go away, no matter how hard you scrub, for several days.

Israeli soldiers call the truck the Skunk, and they say it has become one of their favorite tools in confronting the rising challenge of West Bank demonstrations.

As Palestinians have reshaped their resistance in recent years from suicide bombings and armed attacks to civil disobedience and nonviolent demonstrations, Israel's military is grappling with how to alter its tactics as well.

Israel, Egypt's Enemy, What would Carter say?

The Israeli ambassador to Egypt has lodged a protest over Foreign Minister Aboul Gheit's description of Israel as "the enemy" during a visit to Beirut.

Egyptian officials say Gheit's words weren't understood correctly. Yitzhak Levanon formally protested to the government Monday in Cairo, Ynetnews.com reported.

Gheit was asked last week during a news conference in Beirut whether his trip to Lebanon was a warning to the government there. He responded his visit wasn't aimed at sending messages from "the enemy to a sister state."