Israeli man accused of transporting two illegal residents from Gaza in exchange for NIS 50

An Israeli man and two Gaza residents were indicted on Tuesday at the Nazareth Magistrate's Court. The driver, Mahmoud Khatib, 74, of Kafr Kanna, admitted to transporting the two men from their lodging to their workplace for NIS 50. Police stopped the vehicle after a passenger lowered his head, finding the two Gazans, aged 37 and 54, without permits. Khatib was charged with transporting illegal residents; the Gazans with entering and remaining illegally.

An Israeli man and two Gaza residents were indicted on Tuesday at the Nazareth Magistrate's Court, with requests to keep them in custody until the end of legal proceedings. The driver, Mahmoud Khatib, a 74-year-old resident of Kafr Kanna, admitted last week that he had transported the two men from their lodging in Kafr Kanna to their workplace in exchange for NIS 50. According to the indictment, Northern District patrol officers spotted a Skoda traveling through Kafr Kanna last week. After noticing the police vehicle, one of the passengers quickly lowered his head in an apparent attempt to hide. The officers stopped the vehicle and found the two Gaza residents, aged 37 and 54, who did not have permits to be in Israel. Following the investigation, the Israel Police's Nazareth North Prosecution Unit charged Khatib with transporting people who were in Israel illegally. The two passengers were also charged with entering and remaining in Israel without permits.