PA TV guest insinuates “there is an Israeli policy” to keep Palestinians addicted to drugs
The PA TV program Good Morning, Jerusalem hosted Ola Awad, President of the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics.
Awad: We're talking about drugs, about drug use and addicts. We're talking about no less than 35,000 Palestinians from the Jerusalem district who use or are addicted to drugs. This inquiry was done in 2006, and there is an Israeli policy in this regard. Just as an example: When this inquiry was made, there were a few users, there were a few questions about these aspects. The users and the addicts said, 'Ultimately, I want to receive treatment.' But ultimately [the Israelis] consider someone who uses or is addicted to drugs as disabled, and they pay him a certain amount of money every month because of his disability. He's out of work, and at the end of the month he goes and gets this injection so that in the end he'll receive his monthly allowance and be considered disabled. This policy is clear Judaization of Jerusalemites in a direct manner."
Awad: We're talking about drugs, about drug use and addicts. We're talking about no less than 35,000 Palestinians from the Jerusalem district who use or are addicted to drugs. This inquiry was done in 2006, and there is an Israeli policy in this regard. Just as an example: When this inquiry was made, there were a few users, there were a few questions about these aspects. The users and the addicts said, 'Ultimately, I want to receive treatment.' But ultimately [the Israelis] consider someone who uses or is addicted to drugs as disabled, and they pay him a certain amount of money every month because of his disability. He's out of work, and at the end of the month he goes and gets this injection so that in the end he'll receive his monthly allowance and be considered disabled. This policy is clear Judaization of Jerusalemites in a direct manner."