JERUSALEM – Israel spreads drugs in order to destroy Palestinian society, a Palestinian Authority police chief baselessly claimed this week.
“Israel is the number one cause of the spread of drugs in the Palestinian areas,” the official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida quoted conspiratorial Chief of Tulkarem Police Azzam Jabara as saying.
According to the article, translated by Israeli monitoring group Palestinian Media Watch, Israel “intentionally does not pursue [Israelis] who distribute drugs in the Palestinian territories, despite it knowing who they are, and this is while those who distribute them among the Jews are arrested and severe measures are taken against them.”
“This proves that the occupation is the number one cause of the spread of drugs in the Palestinian areas in order to destroy the young generations and thus destroy the whole society,” the report cited Jabara as saying.
Jabara’s claim echoes that made by PA President Mahmoud Abbas earlier this year in which he said that Israel exports a “frightening” amount of drugs to Palestinian youth.
In a speech to the Palestinian Liberation Organization in January, Abbas said Israel’s aim is to destroy young Palestinians but added that his government had formulated a plan to combat the menace.
“We have a plan to fight the drugs. Israel is exporting drugs to us in frightening amounts. We need to pay attention in order to defend our young generation and defend it from the drugs,” Abbas said.
In March, PA TV aired a program in which a senior Palestinian cleric outlandishly stated that Israel seeks to “control” Arab society through the use of dangerous drugs.
In another instance the previous year, a Palestinian official said Israel supplies Palestinians with guns and other weapons in order to encourage violence and create internal chaos.
Abbas’ anti-Israel remarks come amid Palestinian furor over President Donald Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.
In another program broadcast a few months ago on PA TV, Issam Jweihan, the Coordinator of the Project for the War on Drugs in Jerusalem, claimed that Israel targets Jerusalem youth with drugs in order to drive them out and replace the city’s Arab population with Jews.
“A war is being waged [by Israel] against Jerusalem. This is an unconventional war in which unconventional weapons are being used. The goal of the war is clear – to Judaize the city and empty it of its [Arab] residents. They are using unconventional weapons. The weapon that brings the best results for the Israelis is drugs,” Jweihan said.