The State Attorney's Office filed an indictment today (Wednesday) in the Beer Sheva District Court against Ali Hanich, 57, and Suha Hanich, 44, residents of Halhul in the Palestinian Authority - after they pretended to be Israeli citizens for years and fraudulently received rights and benefits from the state.
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The indictment filed by Attorney Giora Hazan of the Southern District Attorney's Office states that the defendants were married in 1998 in Halhul, and later conspired to defraud the State of Israel authorities by creating a false representation that Soha was an Israeli citizen.
According to the allegations, the defendant contacted an Israeli citizen resident of Arara in the Negev, whose daughter died shortly after birth and whose death was not reported to the authorities.
In exchange for thousands of Jordanian dinars, the defendants received the deceased daughter's personal details. Later, Soha, along with Ali and the deceased's mother, arrived at the Population Authority office in Be'er Sheva, where she pretended to be the deceased daughter, and based on the false representation, she registered as an Israeli citizen and received an identity card in her name.
The indictment also states that the defendants - despite being married - were registered in the Israeli Sharia court as a couple who had married for the first time, in order to regularize Ali's status as part of the family unification process.
According to the allegations, over the years the defendants submitted various requests to state authorities, including requests to renew residence permits and false affidavits based on Soha's fake identity.
Within this framework, they allegedly received various rights and benefits, including National Insurance benefits, medical treatment, and additional rights granted to Israeli citizens.
In addition, their six children were registered as Israeli citizens by virtue of Soha's fake citizenship.
According to the indictment, the defendants fraudulently received allowances and grants totaling approximately 515,000 NIS, medical services, and also carried out activities with prohibited property in order to hide the source of the funds.
In addition, they are accused of having resided illegally in Israel for years.
In the request for detention until the end of the proceedings, which was filed at the same time, Attorney Hazan noted: "Their actions indicate a risk to the public posed by them. The absorption of an entire Palestinian family into the State of Israel as ordinary citizens is an act that poses a significant risk to public security.".
The defendants were charged with the offenses of receiving something by fraud under aggravated circumstances, forgery, impersonation, money laundering offenses, and illegal entry into Israel.
In addition, the prosecution requested, if the defendants are convicted, to order the confiscation of property worth the offenses, including vehicles and a truck owned by them.
