A report in the Maariv daily Wednesday said that the military, which has long used tear gas and rubber bullets, was fine-tuning the so-called "Skunk" bomb as a non-lethal means to disperse crowds.

Scientists from the administration for the development of weapons and infrastructure investigated the pong emitted by skunks in nature to make their enemies flee, the paper said.

Now security chiefs hope that the odour given off by the bombs will have much the same effect.

Trials found that only a few drops of the odour can cause an unbearable stench and can also make clothes smell for five years.

WAR.WIRE