Drug cultivation, trafficking on the rise in West Bank
Despite increased efforts to counter it, drug cultivation and trafficking has increased in the West Bank in the first quarter of 2017 compared to previous years.
RAMALLAH, West Bank — The Palestinian police said that it seized different types of drugs worth 60 million Israeli shekels ($16.5 million) in the various provinces between the beginning of January and mid-March.
Speaking to Al-Monitor, Palestinian police spokesman Lt. Col. Luay Irzikat said that drug cultivation and trafficking has increased in the West Bank in the first quarter of 2017 compared to previous years.
He said, “The confiscated drugs in 2016 are worth 5 million shekels [roughly $1.40 million], which is a small amount compared to the first quarter of 2017. This indicates that investments increased in this field.”
On Feb. 27, the Palestinian police conducted the largest anti-drugs crackdown in its history, in Dura, south of Hebron in the southern West Bank. Police discovered a drugs farm and nursery, and a four-story factory that is fully equipped to produce illegal drugs. According to Irzikat, seeds were grown using advanced techniques such as the appropriate lighting, fertilizers and chemicals for the production of drugs.
