PA libel: Israel spreads drugs to Palestinian youth
PA TV News libel:
Israel is "drowning our youth
in the swamp of [drug] addiction"
by Itamar Marcus and Nan Jacques Zilberdik
As policy, the Palestinian Authority demonizes Israel, libeling Jews and Israelis as evil whose goal is to harm Palestinians, destroy the Al-Aqsa Mosque, abuse Palestinian prisoners and rule the world by allying themselves with terror organizations like Islamic State and the Muslim Brotherhood.
Earlier this month, a newsreader on official PA TV News reiterated one of the libels used by the PA to slander Israel, accusing Israel of intentionally spreading drugs among Palestinians to destroy the young generation:
PA TV newsreader: “PA TV has exposed that the occupation is using all means to destroy our people and perhaps the most striking one is the drowning of our youth in the swamp of [drug] addiction, after facilitating the entry of all kinds of drugs for our youth.”
[Official PA TV, March 1, 2015]
Last year, on an official PA TV program for youth that discussed the drug problem in Palestinian society, the Commander of the Narcotics Division in the Jerusalem District Yasser Izzat denied any Palestinian responsibility, instead blaming Israel for causing the drug problem, stating that “the occupation has stolen the people... it is stealing the people by destroying them with drugs”:
Commander of the Narcotics Division in the Jerusalem District Yasser Izzat: “On the subject of Jerusalem: To tell the truth, Jerusalem is in danger. On the subject of Jerusalem, the occupation has stolen the people - that is, [it] stole the land and now it is stealing the people by destroying them with drugs.”
[Official Palestinian Authority TV, Feb. 23, 2014]
Click to see more examples of the PA’s drug libel.
The following is a longer excerpt of the youth program discussing the Palestinian drug problem:
Official PA TV program Speak Up episode about the increase in drug use among youth, mainly in Jerusalem.
Guests on the program included District Deputy Governor of Jerusalem Abdallah Siyam, Commander of the Narcotics Division in the Jerusalem District Yasser Izzat and an anonymous youth from the street.
Commander of the Narcotics Division in the Jerusalem District Yasser Izzat: “On the subject of Jerusalem: To tell the truth, Jerusalem is in danger. On the subject of Jerusalem, the occupation has stolen the people - that is, [it] stole the land and now it is stealing the people by destroying them with drugs.”
Youth: “With all the means you can talk about, you won’t succeed in stopping this phenomenon [of spread of drugs], because it is certainly supported by the occupation and the occupation supports the entrance of [drugs] into Palestinian land.”
PA TV host: “A combined effort is necessary [to solve] this problem and to get rid of it, for it is a great disaster, and it is part of the Israeli occupation, which always targets our youth in order to distract them from the Palestinian issue.”
[Official Palestinian Authority TV, Feb. 23, 2014]