Gaza Authorities Burn Drugs, Point Finger at Israel

A recent Al-Manar TV report on the drug problem in the Gaza Strip claimed that the quantities of narcotic pills and bricks of hashish recently destroyed indicate "that the youth of Gaza are being targeted from several directions." Ashraf Abu Sido, Head of Legal Affairs in the Anti-Drug Unit, said that "global intelligence agencies, like the Israeli occupation, are operating behind the scenes," and General Nasser Sleiman, Head of the Military Courts, said that "the occupation benefits greatly when our youth become addicted." The report aired on October 22, 2018.

Following are excerpts:

Reporter: Considering the size of the Gaza Strip population, the over one million narcotic pills and 1,000 bricks of hashish that were destroyed constitute a huge amount. It indicates that the youth of Gaza are being targeted from several directions, especially since these quantities of drugs are cheap, as experts claim.

Ashraf Abu Sido, Head of Legal Affairs of the Anti-Drug Unit: This is a terrifying quantity, which reaches the Gaza Strip free of charge or at a very low cost. This proves that global intelligence agencies, like the Israeli occupation, are operating behind the scenes.

[…]

General Nasser Sleiman, Head of the Military Courts: The occupation benefits greatly when our youth become addicted. When somebody becomes addicted and cannot afford to pay for drugs, the collaborators give his name to the [Israeli] intelligence officer, and they recruit the addict, thus doing grave harm to our national security.