The Israeli Arab community of Umm al-Fahm in northern Israel where the two Hamas operatives were arrested. Photo: Wikimedia Commons.

JNS.org – Two Hamas operatives were arrested by Israeli security services after posing as medical patients in order to enter Israel.

The two operatives, 31-year-old Mahmoud Matok and his 52-year-old father of the Jabalya refugee camp in Gaza, entered Israel on forged medical documents on Jan. 7. They later escaped from the hospital and traveled to the Israeli Arab community of Umm al-Fahm in northern Israel, where they were arrested, said Israel’s Shin Bet security service.

During their interrogation, the two confessed to using a relative’s medical condition by posing as that relative to gain medical attention in Israel. They paid NIS 7,000 ($1,777) for the forged documents.

“This is a serious incident that illustrates the cynical exploitation of Israel’s willingness to meet the humanitarian needs of Gaza’s residents, which could lead to a tightening of entry regulations, and ultimately harm the residents of the Gaza Strip,” a Shin Bet official told the Jerusalem Post.