Israelis complain passports defaced at border crossings
Dozens of Israelis passing through Ben Gurion and Taba border crossings complain their passports were defaced by Population and Immigration Authority officials; Authority: 'Travelers pass through passport control with damaged passport to avoid paying for new one.'
Dozens of Israelis have complained that despite their passports being in order, officials at Ben-Gurion Airport and the Taba border crossing passport control informed them their passports were torn or otherwise not in order and demanded they replace it, or they would not be able to leave Israel.
Many of the complainants said their passports were new, and other border crossings had found no fault in them.
Michael, 31, recounted such an incident. "It happened Friday morning on the Israeli side of the Taba border crossing. The official gave me my passport back with a tear on the page containing my photo. The tear wasn't there before," he said.
N., 26, who recently returned from the Sinai Peninsula, shared a similar story. "A day before some guys I didn't know said passports are being damaged at the border and advised us to examine them beforehand. At the border crossing to Israel, the official took my passport, showed me part of it was torn but really yanked it away. I checked it before I got there and it was fine," she said.
Itai, 36, said on his return from Prague several months ago Israeli passport control informed him his passport was torn, and he would not be able to use it for international travel again. Itai claimed the passport was only a few months old at the time and no defects were found in it when he left Israel, and then again when he left Prague.
"It's really bizarre, the official showed me a one-centimeter long tear on the passport's first page that wasn't there before. Everyone who complained about this sort of thing said the tear was on the passport's first page, where the passport photo is," he recounted.
MK Ofer Shelah's office said it received dozens of complaints about this issue and is familiar with hundreds more made online. Shelah's office contacted the Ministry of the Interior, but have yet to hear back.
Responding to a request for comment, the Ministry of the Interior's Population and Immigration Authority said, "By law, one of the main duties of passport control is to ensure the passport a traveler is using is in order and undamaged in any way. A passport control employee not remarking on any defect in the passport would not be doing their job, and may cause the passenger to run into further issues overseas and even be arrested by immigrations authorities there."
"Passport control employees at the Taba border crossing, similarly to their compatriots elsewhere in Israel, are dutiful in their work. Unfortunately, travelers often prefer to try and pass through passport control with a damaged passport to avoid having to pay for a new one. Later, when they run into problems, they'll complain to the Authority's employees," the Population and Immigration Authority's response continued.
"Insinuation of any alleged tampering is unacceptable, and we will not permit besmirching the Authority or its employees. Any specific complaints will be examined on a case-by-case basis," the Authority's response concluded.
