Border Guard Indicted for Allowing Unchecked PA Arab Through Checkpoint

A Yerushalayim court on Thursday indicted a Border Guard officer who is accused of allowing a Palestinian Authority Arab to illegally enter Israel through a checkpoint in exchange for money and other favors. The 49-year-old officer is charged with fraud and dereliction of duty, and may yet be charged with assisting terrorists to carry out attacks.

The officer had worked at a checkpoint in Gush Etzion, and had struck up a relationship with a resident of an Arab village in the area, who had arranged with the officer to be allowed to cross into Israel proper without showing identification or the appropriate permits. The Arab was allowed to cross into Israel numerous times, the indictment said. It is not clear yet if the Arab had engaged in acts of terror when crossing into Israel.

In a statement, prosecutors said that the officer “had violated the trust placed in him. He was in charge of affairs at the checkpoint, and officers who worked for him allowed the individual to illegally enter Israel under his orders.” A court date for a trial has yet to set.