Manhunt for Palestinian prisoners after escaping from Israeli high security prison | Abroad

Bennet says he receives constant updates on the prison break. He was spotted around 3 a.m., hours before the Jewish New Year celebration. The inmates dug their tunnel under a sink and emerged from the other side of the prison wall. Their tunnel exit is right next to one of the watchtowers, according to Israeli media footage.

Officials say roadblocks have been erected in the north of the country and the occupied West Bank and security forces are patrolling the area. IDF Radio reported that 400 detainees are being transferred to prevent further escape attempts. According to the radio, Gilboa Prison, located at the northern tip of the West Bank near the village of Salem, is considered one of Israel’s safest prisons and all six appear to have received outside help. .

The fugitive detainees are said to be on their way to Jenin, a Palestinian town in the West Bank. The internationally recognized Palestinian Authority exercises little control over it, and activists have openly clashed with Israeli forces in recent weeks. Israeli helicopters flew over the city on Monday morning.

According to the Palestine Prisoner Club, which represents both current and former detainees, the six escaped men are between 26 and 49 years old and one of them is Zakaria Zubeidi (46). He had been imprisoned since 2019 and commanded the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, the armed wing of the Fatah movement, during the second Palestinian uprising (2000-2005). Four other fugitives were serving life sentences, the club said.

According to the newspaper Haaretz the six are considered very dangerous and have served life sentences for attacks on Israelis.

Palestinian militant groups were quick to praise the epidemic. “This is a great heroic act, which will cause a major shock to the Israeli security system and a severe blow to the army and the whole system in Israel,” said Daoud Shehab, spokesman for the Israeli government. Islamic Jihad.

Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum also rejected the escape, saying it shows “that the struggle for freedom with the occupying forces is continuous and extensive, in prisons and beyond to achieve it.” .