Israel: Police Increasingly Suspect Jailers Aided Security Prisoners Escape

Police increasingly suspect that Prisons Service staff aided in the escape of six security prisoners who fled Gilboa Prison earlier this week, according to a Wednesday television report.

Kan news said two Prisons Service members are to be questioned under caution on Thursday in connection with decision-making that led to the escape of the six Palestinians, in what is considered to be one of the most serious jailbreaks in the country’s history.

As searches for the fugitives continue, senior officials from the service were summoned for questioning on Tuesday evening, Kan reported. Earlier that day, at least 14 Prisons Service staff were questioned by police amid suspicions that the escapees may have had assistance.

The six escapees include Zakaria Zubeidi, a notorious commander in Fatah’s Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade terror group, who was in prison while on trial for two dozen crimes, including attempted murder. Four escapees were in jail for life in connection with deadly attacks against Israelis and affiliation with the Palestinian Islamic Jihad terror group. The remaining prisoner was being held in administrative detention and had not been charged with a crime other than belonging to the Palestinian Islamic Jihad.

Read more at Times of Israel.

{Matzav.com}