Cross-border Arab-Jewish drug connection exposed

An Arab-Jewish drug-dealing network was uncovered operating in West Bank districts when police detained a group as part of a cross-border probe this week. Settlers from the Tapuch Junction area in the West Bank were suspected of purchasing drugs from their Palestinian neighbors in the village of Hawara, south of Nablus city, Israeli online site Ynet news reported. A narcotics investigation resulted in the arrest of Arabs from Hawara and four alleged Jewish drugs “clients.” It is unclear how many Arabs were arrested on suspicion of drug-dealing. The incident is an unexpected case in the area. Hawara is usually associated with frequent clashes between Arabs and Jewish settlers living nearby. In a prominent incident last March, hundreds of armed Jewish settlers attacked Palestinian homes in Hawara village, eyewitnesses told the Palestinian Information Center (PIC) “Settlers went on the rampage through the villages damaging property, assaulting residents, burning cars and throwing stones at everything,” the PIC reported. In response to the incident, the Israeli occupation forces closed a road between Ramallah and Nablus. Al Arabiya