Tel Aviv: Israeli police on Monday said they were looking for six Palestinian prisoners who fled last night from high security facilities in North Israel in a very rare breakout.
Police said they had established road barriers and patrol in the area.
The men were believed to have headed for Jenin, where internationally recognized Palestinian authorities used a slight control and where guerrillas in recent weeks openly clashed with Israeli forces.
The prisoners flew from Gilboa prison last night, which should be one of the safest Israeli facilities.
Israeli’s military radio said the men escaped through the tunnel and seemed to have received outside assistance.
The photo that appears in Israeli media shows what is meant to be the end of an escape tunnel, with one image that shows an Israeli security man in a black shirt that examines the hole in the ground.
Palestinian militant groups quickly praised Breakout.
“This is a great heroic act, which will cause severe surprises to the Israeli security system and will be a severe blow for the army and the entire system in Israel,” said Daoud Shehab, a spokesman for Islamic jihad.
Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoug threw his escape in the same way, said it showed “that the struggle for freedom with continuous invaders and extended, outside the prison.
And outside to extract this right,” the prisoners including Zakeariye Zubeidi, a former leader Militants in the north west of Jenin, and three militants of Islamic jihad which served life sentence for involvement in deadly attacks on Israel.
Zubeidi was a leader in the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, affiliated with the Fatah movement, during the second Palestinian rebellion more than 20 years ago.