Lebanese official blames Israel of drug trafficking
During parliament debate in Beirut president of anti-drug NGO says 'Israel importing hashish and heroin in order to ruin our society'
Lebanon's president of the anti-drug NGO JAD accused Israel on Friday of trafficking drugs in the country, the Daily Star in Lebanon reported.
During a parliament discussion on the country's increasing drug problem, Joseph Hawat spoke about rising figures of drug addicts that are being reported in the Arab world and highlighted Israeli involvement as being a particular threat.
“Last year, we (JAD) were researching the case of a drug smuggler who was importing chocolate from Egypt that contained LSD and other drugs,” he said, “We traced the drug dealer’s source in Egypt to an Israeli businessman living in Egypt.”
He further added, “This is not the only case we have heard of. But I (sincerely) believe that Israel is importing hashish and heroin in order to ruin our society.”
The Daily Star quoted Hawat speaking of the drug-addiction phenomenon in Lebanon. “Young Lebanese people are dying every day from drug usage. Drugs are now available by home delivery … and so we have a duty to work against this rise and the increased usage that is being seen in our prisons,” he said.
Lebanese Minister of Youth and Sports Ali Hassan Abdullah also spoke during the debate and outlined the country's methods of fighting drug usage. “We shall be focusing mainly on stricter punishment for drug dealers,” he said. “We have to make punishment stricter, and so we are looking at the possibility of increasing the punishment for drug-dealing to death.”
According to the report, the Lebanese minister added that the government will allocate millions of dollars for the war on drugs, most of which will be transferred to the JAD.
