Palestine Press Agency has an expose on the huge market in Gaza for fake medical paperwork.
Apparently, this has turned into a huge industry, with doctors and nurses soliciting bribes to write up diagnoses for various illnesses.
Students are bribing doctors to avoid exams. Families are obtaining the faked reports in order to get benefits from social services. The bribes can range from $50 to $3000.
The practice is widespread and everyone in Gaza knows about it, admitting it freely but justifying it because everyone else is doing it.
In September, the New York Times wrote about the phenomenon of Gazans faking injuries in order to get out of Gaza, to see family or attend conferences. This means that some people who are in real need for medical help are not getting it.
The PalPress article adds another aspect, though. The Gaza war in 2014 gave people a wonderful excuse to fake injuries - because they know that NGOs will pay them.
Their investigation found that a large number of those who claimed injury during the Gaza war faked their papers in order to be given monthly payments. There is less scrutiny on that money because those whose injuries can be blamed on Israel are a high priority. The war was an opportunity to claim injuries without any real vetting.
How many of the thousands who were said to be injured in the war simply made it up?
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