2004-2005 INTERNATIONAL NARCOTICS CONTROL STRATEGY

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 TEL AVIV 000389

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR INL, NEA/IPA
JUSTICE FOR OIA, AFMLS, AND NDDS
TREASURY FOR FINCEN
DEA FOR OILS AND OFFICE OF DIVERSION CONTROL

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: SNAR KSEP IS ISRAELI SOCIETY GOI INTERNAL
SUBJECT: 2004-2005 INTERNATIONAL NARCOTICS CONTROL STRATEGY
REPORT, PART I

REF: SECSTATE 249035

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Part I: Summary
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1. Israel is not a significant producer or trafficking point
for drugs. The Israeli National Police (INP),however,
reports that during the year 2004, the Israeli drug market
continued to be characterized by high demand in nearly all
sectors of society and a high availability of drugs including
cannabis, ecstasy, cocaine, heroin and LSD. The INP also
reports a continuing high demand for ecstasy in 2004, and a
high level of seizure, especially compared with 2003. There
was a comparable amount of marijuana seized, and a slight
decrease in the amount of hashish seized.The INP reports that
the amount of heroin seized remains relatively low as in
previous years, although the level of demand is unchanged.
The quantity of LSD seized in 2004 far exceeds past years,
with the seizure of 55,438 blotters compared to 28,331
blotters in 2003. Widespread use of ecstasy by Israeli
youths is a continuing source of concern to authorities.
There was a slight decrease from last year in the number of
offense files for drug use, trafficking, and possession not
for personal use. The number of drug arrests for 2004 is not
available. (Note: All data are for the period January
through October and were obtained from the Research
Department of the Israeli Police Headquarters, unless
otherwise indicated. End note.) In June 2002, Israel
ratified the 1988 UN Drug Convention. Israel's domestic law
contains the legislative requirements mandated by the
convention.

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Part II: Status of Country.
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2. Israel is not a major producer of narcotics or precursor
chemicals. Israeli narcotics traffickers operating outside
of Israel continue to be deeply involved in the international
ecstasy trade. The Israeli National Police (INP) reports
that during the year 2004, the Israeli drug market was
characterized by a high demand in nearly all sectors of
society and a high availability of drugs including cannabis,
ecstasy, cocaine, heroin and LSD. The INP estimates the
annual scope of the Israeli market to be 100 tons of
marijuana, 20 tons of hashish, 20 million tablets of ecstasy,
4 tons of heroin, 3 tons of cocaine, and hundreds of
thousands of LSD blotters. Officials are also concerned with
the widespread use of ecstasy and cannabis among Israeli
youth, and say that drug use among youth mirrors trends in
the West.

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Part III: Country Action Against Drugs in 2004
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3. Policy initiatives. In June 2002 Israel ratified the
1988 UN Conventional Against the Illicit Traffic in Narcotic
Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (1988 UN Drug Convention)
after passing all the necessary laws to make Israeli laws
consistent with the Convention. In 2004, the INP continued
its general policy of interdiction at Israel's borders and
points of entry because the biggest quantities of drugs cross
into Israel from Jordan, Egypt, and Lebanon. Together with
the Israeli Anti-Drug Authority (IADA),the INP concentrated
specifically on the Jordanian and Egyptian borders, where the
majority of heroin, cocaine, and cannabis comes into Israel.
The INP and the IADA have jointly developed programs to help
Israeli youth, and have identified and begun investigating
six or seven major families involved in drug trade in Israel.


4. Distribution. Israel is not a significant distribution
point for illegal drugs.


5. Sale, Transport, and Financing. Israel is not a
significant seller, transporter or financer of the drug trade
but Israeli citizens abroad in locations such as Denmark,
Holland, and Belgium serve as brokers and transporters of
ecstasy to the U.S. and elsewhere.


6. Asset Seizure. In 2004, authorities seized $6.6 million
in illegal drug related assets and cash.


7. Extradition. Four individuals were extradited from
Israel to the U.S. on drug related charges in 2004. Israel
also arrested Zeev Rosenstein on November 8, 2004, and
extradition proceedings are ongoing. In addition, Israel has
extradited individuals to Germany and Holland.


8. Law Enforcement and Drug-Transit Cooperation. DEA
officials characterize cooperation between the DEA and the
INP as outstanding. All DEA investigations related to Israel
are coordinated through the DEA Nicosia Country Office.
Through the Nicosia Office, the DEA and the INP conduct
coordinated investigations throughout the world. The INP
also has liaison officers in Bangkok, Paris, The Hague,
Bogota, Berlin, Moscow, Ankara, and Washington, DC. Through
these offices, there were several significant joint
investigations conducted in 2004 leading to arrests of 57
Israelis abroad in 2004.


9. Precursor Chemical Control. Israel is not a significant
producer of precursor chemicals. Israeli Customs authorities
are active participants in "Operation Topaz" a UN program
that watches the movement of precursor chemicals.


10. Law Enforcement Efforts. INP reports a high demand for
cocaine and a total of 28.5 kg. seized in 2004, a figure less
than half of that in 2003, and showing a decline for the last
two years in a row. In 2004, 14,167 kg. of marijuana was
seized, about the same as in 2003. In 2004, 773 kg. of
hashish were seized, a quantity down slightly from last year,
and a decline for two years in a row. The number of ecstasy
tablets seized in 2004 was 214,076, up almost three times the
amount seized in 2003. The level of heroin seized in 2004
was 50 kg., comparable to 2003, with one seizure of 21 kg. in
December 2004. In 2004, 55,438 LSD blotters were seized in
total, almost double the amount of blotters seized in 2003.
There was a slight change from last year in the number of
offense files reported by the INP. In 2004, the INP reported
12,335 files for drug use, 2,561 for drug trafficking, and
6,007 for drug possession not for personal use. Israel
destroyed 528 illicit labs in 2004, compared with none in

2003. The figures for drug arrests in 2004 are not available.


11. Corruption. In April 2004, Israel arrested and indicted
Gonan Segev, a former Energy Minister under Yitzhak Rabin,
when he left a bag with 25,000 ecstasy pills in a locker at
the Amsterdam airport on his way back to Israel. Israel does
not explicitly or implicitly support narcotics-related
activities. Israel does not have specific legislation for
public corruption related to narcotics.


12. Agreements and Treaties. In June 2002, Israel ratified
the 1988 UN Drug Convention after passing all the necessary
laws to make Israeli laws consistent with the Convention. In
1991, the U.S. and Israel signed a memorandum of
understanding calling for bilateral cooperation to combat
illicit narcotics trafficking and abuse. A dual taxation
treaty between the U.S. and Israel entered into force in
1994, which grants the U.S. tax authorities limited access to
bank account information. Israel is a party to the 1971 UN
Convention on Psychotropic Substances, the 1961 UN Single
Convention on Narcotic Drugs, and the 1972 Protocol amending
the 1971 Convention. A customs mutual assistance agreement
and a mutual legal assistance treaty are also in force
between Israel and the U.S. The Israeli Customs Department's
National Drug Enforcement Unit reports drug seizures to the
World Customs Organization. In December 2000 Israel signed
the UN Convention against Transnational Crime and it is in
the process of passing the necessary changes to Israeli law
required for ratification. In November 2001, Israel also
signed the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress, and Punish
Trafficking in Persons, supplementing this convention.
Israel is a party to the European Convention on Mutual Legal
Assistance in Criminal Matters. Israel regularly
participates in the Third Committee of the United Nations in
New York. Israel is one of 36 parties to the European Treaty
on Extradition and has separate extradition treaties with
several other countries, including the U.S. Under the
Israeli extradition law, as recently amended, all persons,
whether citizens or not, may be extradited for purposes of
standing trial for extraditable offenses. If the requested
person was both a citizen and resident of Israel at the time
the offense was committed, he may be extradited to stand
trial abroad only if the state seeking extradition promises
in advance to allow the person to return to Israel to serve
any sentence imposed. Israel is party to a number of other
bilateral and multilateral agreements that allow for
extradition and asset seizure. Israel cooperates with the
UNDCP. Israeli also has over 20 bilateral drug enforcement
agreements with nations around the world.

13. Cultivation/Production. There is negligible cultivation
and production of illicit drugs in Israel.


14. Drug Flow/Transit. Israel is not a significant transit
country, although Israeli citizens have been part of
international drug trafficking networks in source, transit,
and distribution countries. Israeli officials are
particularly concerned about drugs being smuggled into Israel
from neighboring countries (Lebanon, Jordan and Egypt).
Israel also works with Germany and Holland to interdict the
flow of ecstasy, Turkey to interdict the flow the cocaine,
and South American countries to interdict the flow of heroin.


15. Demand Reduction. A number of both public and private
entities are working to reduce the demand for drugs through
awareness and prevention. The Israeli Anti-Drug Authority
(IADA) is one of the main governmental actors in this effort.
Its mission, among other things, is to spearhead prevention
efforts, initiate and develop educational services and public
awareness, and treat and rehabilitate drug users. It
coordinates with and directs the activities of a number of
government ministries with a role in reducing demand. The
IADA also seeks to change the public atmosphere to counter
increasing social acceptance of recreational drug use.
Prevention programs target high-risk segments of the
population like the Arab sector, as well as youths, students,
backpackers, new immigrants, and others. The IADA offers
workshops and lectures for immigrants from Russia and
Ethiopia in their respective languages and tailored to their
particular cultural needs. The IADA is working to reduce
demand for narcotics among soldiers by providing officers
with the skills to combat effectively the use of drugs within
their units. There is an ongoing public awareness campaign
aimed at parents and designed to focus their attention on
their children's whereabouts and activities. The IADA also
concentrates on human resources development, including the
development of a professional infrastructure, and is
establishing a unified standard for training purposes,
including development of a curriculum for nurses, police,
prison employees, physicians, and counselors, as well as
other drug prevention, treatment, and enforcement
professionals. The IADA also performs basic,
epidemiological, and evaluative research in the narcotic drug
field. The INP participates in demand reduction initiatives
by lecturing at schools at all levels above 10 years of age
and in the army about the impact of drugs on the body and
mind.

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Part IV: U.S. Policy Initiatives and Programs.
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16. Road Ahead. The DEA regional office in Nicosia, Cyprus,
looks forward to continued cooperation and coordination with
its counterparts in the Israeli law enforcement community.
The GOI is seeking to widen and build on relations with other
countries and has created an office of International
Relations within the IADA to pursue this objective. Israel
began its four-year-term as a member of the Commission on
Narcotic Drugs (CND) in January 2004.

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Part V: Statistical Tables
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17. Drug Crop Cultivation. N/A


Drug seizures* 2004 2003
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Cocaine (kg.) 28.5 66

Heroin (kg.) 50 51

Cannabis Resin (kg.) 773 900

Herbal Cannabis (kg.) 14,167 14,795

LSD (blotters) 55,438 28,331

MDMA (Ecstasy)(tablets) 214,076** 7,658

* Data represent seizures January through October. Source of
data: Israel Police Headquarters, Research Department

** Israel also seized 1.513 kg. of powder


Drug Offense Files* 2004 2003
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Use 12,335 15,162

Trafficking 2,561 3,160

Possession Not for 6,007 6,219
Personal Use

* Data represents January through October files.
Source of data: Israel Police Headquarters, Research
Department


Other Statistics* 2004 2003
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Illicit Labs Destroyed 528 None

Arrests N/A 3,616


* Data represents January through October files.
Source of data: Israel Police Headquarters, Research
Department

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Part VI: Chemical Control
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18. Israel is not a significant producer of precursor
chemicals. Israeli Customs authorities are active
participants in "Operation Topaz," a UN program that watches
the movement of precursor chemicals. Israel in 2004 approved
legislation that requires factories to have licenses for the
import of chemicals that can be used as precursor chemicals.

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