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Israeli army nabs last two of six Gilboa prison escapees

The Israeli army says it nabbed the last two of six Palestinian fugitives involved in a spectacular jail break earlier this month.

AFP

A member of the Israeli security forces stands guard at the Gilboa prison, as Palestinians gather outside the prison to express their support of the Palestinian prisoners on September 18, 2021.

The last two of six Palestinian prisoners who escaped a maximum-security Israeli prison two weeks ago were rearrested early on Sunday, the Israeli military has said.

The two were captured during an Israeli army raid in their hometown of Jenin in the occupied West Bank, closing an intense, embarrassing pursuit that exposed security flaws after the six tunnelled out of their cell on September 6.

"The chase ended successfully in a joint operation of the IDF, the Public Security Service and the Special Police Forces tonight in the city of Jenin, " Israeli army spokesperson Avichay Adraee said.

Palestinian media reported that clashes erupted in Jenin when Israeli troops entered the city, but Adraee said the two escapees were arrested without resistance from a house where they had taken refuge and were taken for questioning.

The men, 35-year-old Ayham Kamamji and 26-year-old Munadel Infeiat, are both members of Islamic Jihad.

The Israeli army spokesperson posted photos on Twitter of the last two prisoners during their arrest on Sunday.

Hollywood-style escape

Following the September 6 escape from Gilboa prison, two of the men were caught on September 10, with two more captured the next day.

At the beginning of September, six Palestinian inmates escaped Gilboa prison in Israel's north, through a tunnel dug under a sink in a cell, reportedly using tools including a spoon.

Israel launched a massive manhunt, deploying drones, road checkpoints and pouring troops into the occupied West Bank.

For the Palestinians, the prisoners who dug the tunnel for months and escaped were heroes.

All escapees captured

Islamic Jihad said Kamamji suffered abdominal and intestinal illness in jail and was subject to "medical negligence" by prison authorities.

Infeiat, arrested last year, had been jailed multiple times previously for his role in the armed group, and was awaiting sentencing at the time of the escape.

The other men recaptured last week included Mahmoud Abdullah Ardah, the alleged mastermind of the escape, and Zakaria Zubeidi, a former leader of the Fatah movement.