PA Security Forces spokesman: Israel is responsible for rise in drug labs in the West Bank, is interested in "destroying Palestinian society socially, morally, and nationally"
Headline: "Adnan Al-Damiri: The security situation in the West Bank is stable and the occupation is trying to undermine it"
"In order to be updated on the security situation in the West Bank and the large challenges it is facing, the Al-Quds [newspaper] interviewed Official Spokesman of the Palestinian [PA] Security Forces in the West Bank [and General Political Commissioner of the PLO Political and National Guidance Authority] Adnan Al-Damiri…
[Q:] ‘In your opinion, what is the reason for the rise in the number of drug labs in the West Bank?’
[Official Spokesman of the PA Security Forces Adnan Al-Damiri:] 'The occupation is interested in destroying Palestinian society socially, morally, and nationally, and in destroying its norms, culture, and way of behaving. Some of the people are still not convinced of this to this day, as if it were a hidden matter. Whoever thinks that the settler government in Israel wants a satisfied Palestinian people is mistaken. At best, the Palestinian Security [Forces] still have no control over the borders, and drugs are goods that can be transferred across the border. Therefore, the one responsible for them being smuggled and brought in is the one who controls the borders, and that is first of all the Israeli occupation… We see, and everyone with intelligence knows and sees, that there are local issues that the occupation is responsible for and which are being carried out with external funding. After all, growing drugs for instance costs hundreds of thousands of [Israeli] shekels as it requires equipment, and there are also types of drugs that require labs, and all of these things are very expensive. An issue like this not only affects individuals, but is also directed against a whole society, first by the enemies, but also by the criminals, law breakers, and those with [private] agendas - and all of them have an interest in destroying Palestinian society.'"
The article appears in the April 2017 edition of the magazine of Fatah’s Information and Culture Commission in Lebanon, Al-Quds, and was posted on the commission’s website Falestinona on April 5, 2017.
"In order to be updated on the security situation in the West Bank and the large challenges it is facing, the Al-Quds [newspaper] interviewed Official Spokesman of the Palestinian [PA] Security Forces in the West Bank [and General Political Commissioner of the PLO Political and National Guidance Authority] Adnan Al-Damiri…
[Q:] ‘In your opinion, what is the reason for the rise in the number of drug labs in the West Bank?’
[Official Spokesman of the PA Security Forces Adnan Al-Damiri:] 'The occupation is interested in destroying Palestinian society socially, morally, and nationally, and in destroying its norms, culture, and way of behaving. Some of the people are still not convinced of this to this day, as if it were a hidden matter. Whoever thinks that the settler government in Israel wants a satisfied Palestinian people is mistaken. At best, the Palestinian Security [Forces] still have no control over the borders, and drugs are goods that can be transferred across the border. Therefore, the one responsible for them being smuggled and brought in is the one who controls the borders, and that is first of all the Israeli occupation… We see, and everyone with intelligence knows and sees, that there are local issues that the occupation is responsible for and which are being carried out with external funding. After all, growing drugs for instance costs hundreds of thousands of [Israeli] shekels as it requires equipment, and there are also types of drugs that require labs, and all of these things are very expensive. An issue like this not only affects individuals, but is also directed against a whole society, first by the enemies, but also by the criminals, law breakers, and those with [private] agendas - and all of them have an interest in destroying Palestinian society.'"
The article appears in the April 2017 edition of the magazine of Fatah’s Information and Culture Commission in Lebanon, Al-Quds, and was posted on the commission’s website Falestinona on April 5, 2017.