2 Gazans indicted for entering Israel on forged medical papers

Two Palestinians from the Gaza Strip — one of them a Hamas member — were indicted on Thursday for entering Israel on forged medical papers, the Shin Bet security service said Monday.

On January 7, Mahmoud Matuk, a 30-year-old Hamas member, and Ayoub Matuk, 51, from Jabaliya, presented false papers to the authorities that the former was suffering organ failure and required immediate treatment at Jerusalem’s al-Maqased Hospital.

Matuk was evacuated to the hospital from Gaza, and by the next day, the two made their way to Umm al-Fahm “fully healthy,” the security service said.

The documents were fabricated by a relative named Hassin Matuk, who had a Gazan doctor sign the false papers, and which cost NIS 7,000 ($1,700) apiece, according to the Shin Bet.

Israel maintains tight restrictions at the Erez Crossing from the Gaza Strip, to ensure that materials transported to the coastal enclave do not fall into the hands of Hamas for military purposes.

Palestinians in the Strip in need of urgent medical care can receive permission to be treated in Israeli hospitals.

The pair were later arrested by the Israel Police and Shin Bet, and on Thursday were indicted for conspiracy to a crime, receiving fraudulent documents under aggravated circumstances, and entering Israel illegally.

The Shin Bet did not accuse the two of planned attacks or any other illegal activities, but called the matter “serious” nonetheless.

“This is a serious incident which exemplifies the cynical extortion of Israel’s willingness to answer to the humanitarian needs of the residents of the Gaza Strip in favor of their illegal entry to Israel, something that is likely to harden the entry policy and ultimately harm the residents of the Strip,” the Shin Bet said.