Exploitation of Humanitarian Allowance

[Excerpt from Palestinian Terrorism in 2007 Statistics and Trends
Government of Israel
www.mfa.gov.il/NR/rdonlyres/75FC2B98-A581-4C89-88AC-7C3C1D1BC097/0/Terrorism2007report.pdf
]

As a result of the security and political situation in the Gaza Strip,
influenced inter alia by Hamas's takeover of the Strip, it was decided to
tighten the control on Palestinians entering Israel from the Gaza Strip. To
do this, Israeli authorities established various criteria governing the
entry of Palestinians into Israel. In this context, Palestinians are allowed
to enter Israel in special humanitarian circumstances, such as to receive
life-saving medical treatment, where circumstances permit taking the
security risk inherent in the person's entry.

Alongside the permits Israel issues for entry of ill Palestinians into
Israel on humanitarian grounds, there was a significant increase in the
exploitation of this possibility by Palestinians wanting to leave the Gaza
Strip, primarily as a result of Hamas's takeover and the security situation
that came in its wake.
Exploitation of the humanitarian "loophole" is done in a number of ways. The
primary one is by obtaining a fictitious referral to a hospital in Israel,
in the West Bank or abroad from a physician or other authorized person, in
exchange for money. The security forces are aware of a number of physicians
and hospital administrative personnel in the Gaza Strip who can be bribed to
issue certificates and documents. Medical documents are forged using
authentic stamps of hospitals in Gaza, in exchange for money.

The possibility of forging medical documents increases the threat posed by
terrorist organizations in the Gaza Strip, which are aided by the medical
system in their attempt to gain permits to enter Israel so they can carry
out attacks there.

An example of the above happened in May, when two Palestinian women were
stopped at Erez Crossing on their way to carry out suicide attacks in Tel
Aviv and Netanya. They had received permits to enter Israel based on false
medical documents. Fatma Zaq, 39, a pregnant mother of eight, and her niece
Ruda Habib, 30, a mother of four, both residents of Gaza, admitted under
questioning that the attacks were to take place in a restaurant, events
hall, or place where many soldiers were gathered. To enter Israel, a member
of Islamic Jihad obtained entry permits for them that were based on false
medical documents, indicating Habib needed to undergo a medical examination
at a hospital in Ramallah, and Zaq was said to be escorting her. The
operative also ordered the two women to go to the hospital to undergo the
examination so as to realize the ostensible purpose for their entry.