PA official repeats libel: “Zionist policy” is to cause drug addiction among Palestinian youth
PA official repeats libel:
"Zionist policy" is to cause drug addiction
among Palestinian youth
by Itamar Marcus and Nan Jacques Zilberdik
Palestinian Authority Governor of Ramallah Laila Ghannam has repeated the PA libel that Israel intentionally spreads drugs among Palestinian youth in order to “occupy” them internally:
"There is an attempt to introduce drugs among our children, especially in the Jerusalem district which is open to Israelis, and to destabilize the public peace. There are murders, and these things do not happen by chance. This is a intentional policy of the Zionists who are trying to create an internal occupation within us, in addition to the political occupation."
[Official PA TV, Oct. 10, 2014]
Earlier this year, a host on official PA TV stated that Israel spreads drugs among Palestinians to “distract” them from fighting Israel:
PA TV host: “The occupation is the main factor behind the spread of the phenomenon [of drug use] in Jerusalem and its environs, and its purpose is to ruin the [young] generation and distract it from the causes it faces, first of all the resistance.” [Official PA TV, March 8, 2014]
Recently, another PA official similarly accused Israel of being “the only source” of drugs:“Jenin District Governor Ibrahim Ramadan announced the start of the International Anti-Drug Week events yesterday... He noted that the danger posed by drugs is not merely medical, but also social and moral. He noted that [drugs] recognize no political or social borders, and that their only source is the occupation, which is attempting to strike at the Palestinian home front.” [Official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, June 23, 2014]
This libel, claiming that Israel spreads drugsintentionally to ruin the young generation of Palestinians, as well as a long series of other libels, is often repeated by Palestinian leaders and officials, as reported by Palestinian Media Watch.The following is a longer excerpt of official PA TV program Special Missions about drugs in Jerusalem. The program hosted Dr. Husni Awad, a psychology lecturer at Al-Quds Open University:
Dr. Husni Awad: “Since occupying Jerusalem in 1967, Israel has made an effort to distribute drugs and to facilitate their distribution, especially in Jerusalem, and this is a link in a chain [of efforts] to Judaize Jerusalem - in other words, [to gain] control of it.”
PA TV host: “The occupation is the main factor behind the spread of the phenomenon [of drug use] in Jerusalem and its environs, and its purpose is to ruin the [young] generation and distract it from the causes it faces, first of all the resistance.” [Official PA TV, March 8, 2014]