Israeli security services have arrested four of the six Palestinian terrorists who escaped from a high-security prison earlier this week. The fugitives were arrested at two separate locations by the Israeli police’s counterterrorism unit, news reports say.
The terrorists were apprehended after a six-day nationwide manhunt conducted by the Israeli security service and military. Among those nabbed on Saturday include the high-profile commander of the PLO-Fatah’s Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade terror group, Zakaria Zubeidi. The rest of the five escapees belong to the Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorist group.
All these terrorists have been convicted on multiple counts of murder. “The fugitives have together been responsible for the deaths of dozens of Israelis,” The Jerusalem Post reported earlier this week.
The Israeli government vowed to catch the remaining two terrorist jail breakers. “Sooner or later, we’ll lay our hands on those we seek,” former military chief and Defense Minister, Benny Gantz, declared.
Israeli news channel i24News reported the arrest of terrorist fugitives:
Israel has recaptured four of the six Palestinian terrorists who escaped from a high-security prison earlier this week in one of the most spectacular breakouts in the country’s history, police said Saturday.Since Monday’s breakout, the army has poured troops into the West Bank for a massive manhunt.But the two latest fugitives to be recaptured, who include both a notorious former terrorist leader and the alleged mastermind of the escape, were found hiding in a lorry park just outside Nazareth in northern Israel, police said.Zakaria Zubeidi is a former militant leader of the Fatah movement of Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas in the West Bank town of Jenin, while Mahmoud Ardah was sentenced to life in prison in 2002 for his role in Islamic Jihad’s armed wing.”Two more prisoners who escaped were captured a short time ago… while they were hiding in a parking lot for trucks,” the police said.”The hunt for the other two fugitives continues.”
While the Palestinian Islamic Jihad feted the fugitives for their “great heroic act,” two of them “were found hiding under the wheel of a truck” near the Israeli city of Nazareth,” the Jerusalem Post reported on Sunday.
The Islamic terror group Hamas, which on Monday had called for a “Day of Joy” to celebrate the prison break, joined other Palestinian terrorist outfits in calling for a “Day of Rage” over the recapture of the notorious terrorists.
Their Palestinian supporters followed the call and rioted in the areas controlled by the Palestinian Authority and Hamas.
“Palestinians have been celebrating the breakout with demonstrations in both the West Bank and the Israeli-blockaded Gaza Strip, some of which have been accompanied by rioting,” Israeli news website Ynet News reported. “Islamic Jihad and Hamas, the Islamist rulers of Gaza, have called for a “Day of Rage” in the West Bank on Friday.” the news outlet added.
The Times of Israel reported Palestinian rioting in response to the news:
Palestinians held demonstrations on Friday night across the West Bank, some of them violent, after the Israel Police captured two of the six Palestinian security prisoners who escaped from jail earlier this week.Prime Minister Naftali Bennett reportedly convened a number of police and military officials for an assessment of the situation in the early hours of Saturday morning, an unusual step for the religiously observant premier to take on the Jewish Sabbath.There was no official announcement or confirmation on the matter. Hebrew media reports said up to 1,000 demonstrators and rioters took part in protests at 11 locations across the West Bank.
The Gaza-based terrorist groups reacted to the news by firing rockets into Israel. “At least one rocket launched from the southern Gaza Strip was intercepted by the Iron Dome missile defense system,” TV channel i24News reported.
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