[Dr. Aaron Lerner - IMRA: There's no question which way Amira Hass leans,
so its interesting to see how she handled this story.

On the one hand, she mentions some foreigners who apparently complained to
her that they "began feeling nauseous and suffered from headaches several
days afterwards".

That's right. "Several days afterwards."

On the other hand "a Palestinian resident of East Jerusalem, whose car also
underwent the same procedure, told Haaretz that he did not feel a thing."

Here is the punch line: the foreigner informed her country’s embassy.

Sure sounds like the flue....

By going to the trouble to include mention of the Palestinian resident,
Amira Hass put the entire story into a different context.]

New Israeli search method at West Bank checkpoint worries Palestinians

According to eyewitness reports, Israeli police officers have begun
searching Palestinian vehicles at a Bethlehem checkpoint through use of
nausea-inducing chemicals.
By Amira Hass Haaretz Published 21:30 25.01.12
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/new-israeli-search-method-at-west-bank-checkpoint-worries-palestinians-1.409211

Israel Police have begun implementing a new method of searching Palestinian
vehicles through use of nausea-inducing chemicals at a Bethlehem checkpoint,
international aid workers have reported.

Since December, Israeli police officers have introduced what they call a
sophisticated method of tracking explosive materials.

Palestinians with Israeli license plates, usually residents of Jerusalem or
foreign residents are allowed to pass through the checkpoint. Cars traveling
to Jerusalem are often asked by Border Police soldiers to park their car in
a side lot with eight parking spaces near the checkpoint. Once parked, the
passengers are asked to roll up all windows, apart from that of the driver –
and exit the vehicle. Two tubes are then connected to the vehicle – one is
connected to an air pump, the other, which passes through a tiny filter, is
attached to the vehicle. A policeman with a stopwatch flicks the air pump
switch.

According to Palestinians, police officers who carried out the search
refused to describe the procedure. An official in the Israel Police told
Haaretz that it is an approved procedure, and another police source said
there is no use of any chemicals, but would not expand on the new search
method.

A foreign resident who works at an international organization and must pass
through the checkpoint several times a week told Haaretz that the tube is
left connected for approximately 10 minutes. Afterward, the filter is
removed and taken to a nearby building. The worker says she was under the
impression that some kind of chemical was disseminated into the vehicle, as
she and another passenger began feeling nauseous and suffered from headaches
several days afterwards. The worker has informed her country’s embassy.

However, a Palestinian resident of East Jerusalem, whose car also underwent
the same procedure, told Haaretz that he did not feel a thing, and that the
police officers added that it was “only oxygen” being pumped into the
vehicle.

Israel Police officially responded to the inquiry by saying that “as the
force entrusted to protect the country’s citizens and their quality of life,
it must conduct arbitrary, rudimentary checks through use of sophisticated
technological means, all the while alleviating the experience of those being
checked.”

Approximately three months ago, the police used bomb-sniffing dogs at the
checkpoint. One man who passes through the checkpoint regularly told Haaretz
that the security forces have a tendency to switch methods.