Among Palestinians, the liquid is known simply as "shit". Amnesty International, BTselem, and the Association for Civil Rights in Israel have been critical of the IDFs use of the product. Concerns have included accusations of indiscriminate use against people, homes, and businesses not involved in demonstrations. The IDF has also been accused of deployment in a manner described as punitive. The IDF has at times sprayed Palestinian houses after protests as a form of collective punishment. In response to a negative B'tselem report, the Israel Defense Forces stated that "Skunk" is used only when demonstrators become violent or engage in vandalism and has specific rules of engagement for its use.
Skunk was criticized in a joint 2016 Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) and International Network of Civil Liberties Organizations (INCLO) report on crowd control weapons published by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).