A man was detained on Sunday after attempting to enter Israel through the Shuafat refugee camp checkpoint in east Jerusalem using the identity of a sex offender, authorities said.
According to officials, the man had no legal right to enter Israeli territory. When he arrived at the checkpoint, he tried to identify himself by showing a photo of an identity card stored on his mobile phone.
The identity card was found to belong to a convicted sex offender who is currently under supervision by the Tzur Unit of the Israel Prison Service and does not live in the area.
Officers from the Tzur Unit were summoned to the scene to verify the identity of the person presenting the card. They quickly determined that the man at the checkpoint was not the sex offender in question and that he was attempting to enter Israel illegally.
Questioning revealed a connection between the suspect and the sex offender whose identity he tried to use. The two had first met while serving time in prison and later met again in Jerusalem in March, according to authorities.
Following the discovery, the man was detained by Israel Police for further investigation.
Brig.-Gen. Yehuda Aharoni, commander of the Israel Prison Service's Tzur Unit, said the incident 'demonstrates the vigilance, professionalism, and operational capabilities of the supervision officers of the Israel Prison Service's Tzur Unit, who work day and night to maintain public safety.'
Aharoni added that cooperation with security and law enforcement agencies allows the unit to respond to incidents that fall outside its routine supervision duties, such as the attempted border crossing uncovered on Sunday.
