Suspected of fake documents (illustration)
A couple that immigrated to Israel 18 years ago was arrested by Oz Unit members
in the town of Kfar Yona on Thursday after presenting alleged false documents pertaining to the wife's Jewish status. The two remained in Israel despite
a previous decision to deport them.
Both man and wife, aged 52, moved to Israel in 1991 claiming the woman was Jewish, according to a birth certificate. The two made aliyah together with the woman's daughter, now aged 34. They were provided with Israeli citizenship and immigrant benefits.
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The two recently invited the woman's mother to move to Israel and she was asked to provide a birth certificate. Having done so it was revealed she was not Jewish and consequently neither was her daughter. A more extensive examination indicated that the mother's birth certificate was genuine, however her daughter's was a fake.
Upon the discovery it was decided to deport the couple from Israel. They were then given an opportunity to settle their citizenship but failed to do so. In late 2008 the couple filed a petition with the High Court of Justice against the decision to deport them but was rejected by the court which gave them time to make arrangements for departure.
Still, the two remained in the country while their daughter, who married an Israeli, was permitted to stay.
The couple eventually went missing and an inquiry by the Immigration and Population Administration's Oz Unit was launched in an attempt to locate them.
Unit members discovered they were residing in Kfar Yona in central Israel. Their house was raided early Thursday and the two were arrested and remanded until their deportation.
In a hearing on the matter, the husband claimed that even if their documents are proved false he would not leave the country since his whole life is here. The woman claimed that an employee of the Ministry of Interior had framed her.