"Money was transferred with a handshake": Two Border Police officers accused of checkpoint corruption
According to the indictment, in the midst of the "Iron Swords" war, one officer coordinated the illegal passage of vehicles at the Al-Jib checkpoint in exchange for bribes. Another officer is accused of facilitating the passage of local residents' acquaintances and receiving benefits in return.
An indictment filed on Tuesday by the Department of Internal Police Investigations (DIPI) to the Jerusalem District Court has exposed an alleged corruption affair at the Al-Jib checkpoint.
According to the indictment, in the midst of the fighting in the "Iron Swords" war, two Border Police officers who served at the checkpoint allowed, on numerous occasions, people and vehicles not authorized to enter Israel to pass without inspection.
At the center of the affair is one of the officers, who, according to DIPI, coordinated in advance with another defendant his passage through the checkpoint, sometimes when unauthorized persons were hiding in his vehicle. In return, the officer allegedly received sums of approximately 1,500, 1,000, and 1,600 shekels.
"The money was transferred with a handshake," the indictment states, noting that in other instances, the cash was hidden inside an identification document.
It is further claimed that the officer later deleted conversations and messages from his phone to conceal the connection. He is accused of taking bribes, fraud, breach of trust, and obstruction of justice.
The second officer is accused of maintaining regular ties with local residents, providing them with information about checkpoint operations, and passing relatives and acquaintances at their request. In some cases, he allegedly asked other officers to allow them through. Within the framework of these ties, the officer reportedly received benefits, including free meals at a restaurant belonging to local residents. He is accused of fraud, breach of trust, and failure to fulfill an official duty.
