Identities of dead Beduin used in marriage scam

Ayarot Station police revealed Sunday that they had discovered a strange case in which Beduin women who died were "magically" returned to life. In a scam uncovered by local police intelligence, the identities of two dead Beduin women whose deaths went unreported to the local authorities, were used by two men who brought women from the West Bank to marry them while assuming the dead women's identities. Police, under the command of Ch.-Supt. Yossi Mahlouf, gathered evidence and eventually succeeded in arresting three suspects, Hamid Abulajiyun, 68, Naif Abukayif, 49, and a woman who identified herself as Mirfa Abukayif, 27. Their remands were extended by four days on Sunday, and police were trying to apprehend a fourth suspect. The suspects confessed to the charges leveled against them. Police were continuing their investigation into the case, including looking into the causes of death of the two women whose identities were used.