Al Jazeera claims Israel spreads drugs among Jerusalem Arabs

Remember the "sex gum" that Israel supposedly spreads among Gazans to corrupt youth?

There have also been regular accusations of Israel sending poor Palestinians materials that make them impotent.

But there are constant accusations of Israel spreading drugs among Palestinian youth.

Al Jazeera added to that this weekend, claiming that Jerusalem Arabs are becoming addicted to drugs that Israel is spreading, and the police are encouraging the phenomenon, actively trying to stop any Palestinian authorities from helping out.

Of course, Palestinian police aren't allowed in Jerusalem to begin with.

Middle East Monitor made the same accusations in English a couple of years ago. It gave four reasons for Palestinian drug problems, see if you can find the common denominator:

The obvious and arguably most important reason is the ongoing Israeli occupation, which has a distinct influence on the drug problem in the occupied West Bank....A direct result of Israeli policies in occupied Palestine since 1967 has been increasing despair and frustration among Palestinians. The pressures of the occupation shake the confidence of the local populace, creating a loss of hope that their land will one day be liberated. The occupation authorities target the younger generation (18-28) in this respect.

The second reason is also linked to the occupation: the frustration caused by the deteriorating political situation and a build-up of frustration since the defeat of June 1967 drives many Palestinians to use drugs in order to “escape” from the painful reality of their life in the occupied territories.

Third, the pressure, tension and fatigue seems to have sapped young people’s capacity to carry the burdens of daily life under occupation; again, some turn to drugs to escape from this reality.

Fourthly, there are limited leisure and entertainment opportunities for young Palestinians living under Israeli occupation in the West Bank.

As usual, no sense of actual responsibility for anything; the "occupation" is the reason to justify anything and everything.

It also said that a lot of Palestinians are introduced to drugs in prison because they are housed with drug addicts, implying that Israeli prisons allow drug smuggling.

That article also adds a different twist, tying the drugs to, of all things, Jewish settlements:

Israel apparently encourages addiction among young Palestinians; this is done, claims Hosni Shahin of Samed Community Centre in the Old City, to put pressure on families to sell their land and property to Jewish settlers in order to have enough money to fund the addiction.

I have no doubt that there is a real drug problem among many Arabs, but to blame Israel for causing it is just another way to abdicate any responsibility for Palestinians altogether.

(h/t Elhanan Miller)

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