Six high-security Palestinian prisoners have escaped from a high-security Israel’s Gilboa prison near the Sea of Galilee early Monday through the use of a tunnel.
The six were all in jail with life sentences in connection with deadly terror attacks against Israelis but managed to escape by using a tunnel they had dug under the floor of their cell’s bathroom over the course of at least two months.
According to i24news, five of the inmates are suspected Palestinian Islamic Jihad members and have been convicted in connection to fatal attacks. The sixth is Zakaria Zubeidi, a high-profile commander in Fatah’s military wing who was formerly on Israel’s most-wanted list. Zubeidi is responsible for numerous deadly shootings and bombings.
The group apparently fled through a tunnel to escape, and their breakout was reported by a farmer in the area, according to The Jerusalem Post.
Agents with various security agencies were participating in the manhunt that has roadblocks placed throughout the West Bank and security forces deploying dogs and aerial tools in the search, The Jerusalem Post reported.
A photo of the prisoners’ IDs was also circulating through Twitter. The Israel Prison Service has officially released names of the escapees and their affiliations, which include Mondal Ainfaat, Mahmad Aardiya, Muhammed Aardiya, Yakub Kadari, Iham Kamagi, all of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and Fatah commander Zakaria Zubeidi.
Authorities said the six men were cellmates who escaped through a tunnel that had been dug into the floor of their cell over a period of several months.
Prime Minister Naftali Bennett told Public Security Minister Omer Barlev that the escape was “a serious event that required a comprehensive effort by all of the security services,” his office said in a statement.
Israeli security forces have launched a massive search operation in northern Israel and the occupied West Bank after six Palestinian prisoners escaped from a high-security Israel’s Gilboa prison.
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