Reserve army officer arrested for faking ID cards for 6 Palestinians

Suspect allegedly printed papers identifying West Bank residents as having military credentials, enabling them to stay in Israel for years

A fake identity card printed by an IDF reserve officer for a Palestinian, published by the police on July 22, 2024. (Israel Police)
A fake identity card printed by an IDF reserve officer for a Palestinian, published by the police on July 22, 2024. (Israel Police)

Police said Monday they arrested a 45-year-old lieutenant colonel in the army reserves for allegedly forging military credential identity cards for six Palestinian residents of the West Bank, allowing them to stay in Israel illegally.

An investigation was opened a few months ago in cooperation with the Military Police, when the officer was still commissioned by the army, amid suspicions that in recent years he used a civilian printer to fake the ID cards for Palestinian residents, all of whom are members of the same family from Tulkarem. The officer has since completed his military service and was attached to the reserves.

The ID cards claim the residents work assisting the military in various jobs that don’t exist, the Israel Police said in a statement.

Among the roles the officer allegedly invented were “active Bedouin-Muslims helpers” or being involved in “encouraging the recruitment of Bedouin Muslims to the IDF.”

The Palestinians remained in Israel illegally for years, presenting the forged documents whenever they were asked to show their papers for identification. West Bank Palestinians require permits to enter or remain in Israel.

Police arrested the reserve officer on Monday morning in his home in the north and detained the six Palestinians — aged 21, 29, 31, 34, 35, and 55 — for questioning.

All seven were to be brought for a remand hearing later in the day, police said.

The investigation is ongoing.

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