Prison officials said Monday morning that they feared that six security inmates had escaped from a high-security prison in the north of the country.
A large number of police forces were called in the area and search is on for six with the help of drones and helicopters.
The six are believed to have dug a tunnel, which they used to escape from Gilboa Prison, located northwest of Beit Xi’an, near the Sea of Galilee. Their disappearance was reported around 4 a.m., but they may have fled hours earlier.
According to Hebrew media reports, six were all in prison for life in connection with deadly attacks against Israelis, and all were considered highly dangerous. Three of them had tried to escape in the past.
An unnamed police source told Channel 12 that the incident appeared to be “one of the most serious incidents” in recent memory.
One of the escaped prisoners is believed to be Zakariya Zubaidi, a former commander in Jenin of Fatah’s military wing, the al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigade, who was convicted in several fatal attacks.
The other five prisoners were reportedly members of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorist group also from the northern West Bank city of Jenin.
Terrorist leader Zakaria Zubaidi arrives for a hearing at Ofar Military Court on May 28, 2019. (Jonatan Sindel / Flash 90)
According to Channel 13, officials believe the six will try to escape into Jordan or Janine.
The Israel Prison Service only said it was looking into the incident.
This is the tunnel through which the terrorists escaped from jail! pic.twitter.com/IYfiXS1pDG
liran levi @liran__levi September 6, 2021