A manhunt is underway Monday morning after six high-risk security prisoners escaped from Gilboa Prison overnight Sunday, according to the Israel Prisons Service.
Officials are concerned that the six will try to carry out attacks or escape Israel. Three of them have previously been found to present a high flight risk. The prisoners include Palestinians who previously carried out attacks against Israel. Amongst the fugitives is Zakaria Zabidi, the former leader of Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigade, who is responsible for a 2002 attack at a Likud party branch which killed six people.
Since the manhunt commenced, the IDF has set up roadblocks in the West Bank in an attempt to stop the prisoners from escaping into Jordan, and police officers, Shin Bet personnel and soldiers have been deployed in the search.
Prison officials surmise that the six escaped via a tunnel leading outside the prison walls that they had managed to dig over the past few months. The Shin Bet reported the inmates coordinated with collaborators outside the prison using a smuggled cellphone and had an escape car waiting for them. They were first noticed by local farmers who notified the police.
It was discovered that the six prisoners had escaped at around 4 A.M. during a head count.
An investigation into the incident is underway, said the Prisons Service. An official from the Israel Prison Service described the breach as “a major security and intelligence failure.”
In a statement made shortly after the event the Islamic Jihad called the escape “heroic” and added that it will “shock the Israeli defense system.” Hamas spokesperson Fawzi Barhoum praised the fugitives saying “the escape proves the bravery of these prisoners, achieving freedom despite such strict security measures. It’s a heroic and impressive action.”
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