Palestinian prisoners escape from Israeli prison, apparently through a tunnel
The men escaped from Gilboa prison
By Abeer Salman, Amir Tal and Ibrahim Dahman, CNN
Israeli authorities are hunting for six Palestinian militants who broke out of prison, apparently through a tunnel, sometime early Monday morning.
The men escaped from Gilboa prison, which lies between the Sea of Galilee in Israel and the West Bank town of Jenin.
A picture of a tunnel entrance purportedly used by the prisoners to escape has been widely shared on Palestinian social media, and Israeli media are reporting the men used a tunnel to get out, but police have not yet confirmed it.
Zakaria Zubeidi, a commander in the militant wing of the Palestinian political party Fatah, is one of the escapees, according to a Palestinian prisoner support group. The other five are all reported to be members of the militant group Islamic Jihad.
Islamic Jihad said in a statement that the prison break was a “major heroic act” and a “severe slap to the Israeli army and the entire system in Israel.”
Israeli police say intelligence services are involved in a large police operation to try to find the men. Drones and helicopters are also being used in the hunt, police said.
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