Palestinian security prisoners escape from Israel prison by tunnel

Jerusalem. A large manhunt is underway for six Palestinian prisoners who escaped from the Gilboa prison in Israel's North using a tunnel, reports Jerusalem Post.
The six were high-security prisoners who 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 previously dug.
The Israel Prison Service released the names and affiliations of the escaped prisoners:
According to Jerusalem Post, the six prisoners shared a cell, which is where they dug the tunnel over the course of a month, using a rusty spoon that they hid behind a poster.
The IDF Spokesperson’s Unit said that troops in the West Bank have been alerted to the escape and are on high alert.
According to Hebrew media reports, three of them had attempted to escape in the past.
They were all in the same cell and dug the tunnel over the course of a month.
The escape, which began around 3.30 AM, was reportedly discovered when a farmer saw the six prisoners running in his field and notified the police.
Police, the Shin Bet, Border Police and troops from IDF companies as well as special forces are taking part in the massive manhunt, and have placed roadblocks in the West Bank. Security forces are also utilizing special units in the search like dogs and aerial support.
The IDF Spokesperson’s Unit said that troops in the West Bank have been alerted to the escape and are on high alert.
Police are investigating the possibility that the escapees may have managed to escape to Jenin or Jordan.
A senior police official said that this is one of the worst incidents of this kind in the country.
Prime Minister Naftali Bennett spoke with Interior Minister Omer Bar-Lev and said that this was a "serious incident that will require the efforts of all security systems."
One of the escapees is Zakaria Zubeidi, a Fatah commander who was responsible for multiple terror attacks and many Israeli deaths.
Zubeidi was arrested by the Shin Bet in 2019 following intelligence that he was planning a serious attack in the West Bank and for two shooting attacks against Israeli buses in the West Bank near Beit El and Psagot.
He was once considered a "symbol of the Intifada,” but renounced militancy over a decade ago and was awarded clemency by Israel after he agreed to give up arms.
In a 2009 interview with Palestinian Maan News, Zubeidi said that Palestinian resistance could coexist alongside negotiating with Israel, saying that “this resistance is not defined yet. It could be armed resistance and it could be peaceful resistance.”
In 2012, Zubeidi was arrested by the Palestinian Authority, being accused of “collaboration” with Israel and killing Israeli Arab filmmaker Juliano Mar-Khamis. Zubeidi denied the charges and said that he was tortured and kept under inhumane conditions in the PA's prison in Jericho.
In early 2013 Zubeidi turned himself into Palestinian security forces after Israel revoked his amnesty and spent the next four years in prison. He was released in 2017 and returned to Jenin with his amnesty reinstated.
The other five escapees are suspected to be members of Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ).
In a statement, PIJ called the escape “heroic” and that it “will shock the Israeli defense system.”
Hamas spokesperson Fawzi Barhoum was quoted by Shehab News Agency as saying that the escape is a “great victory that proves that the will and determination of the resistance fighters and mujadin cannot be defeated regardless of the challenges” and that the “Zionist enemy has never and will never win, no matter how much power it possesses. The struggle for freedom from the occupier continues.