Jerusalem: The Israeli army has recaptured the last two Palestinian fugitives involved in a spectacular prison break earlier this month, it announced Sunday.
In early September, six Palestinian prisoners escaped Gilboa prison north of Israel, through tunnels excavated under the sink inside the cell, reported using a tool including a spoon.
Israel launched a big hunt, mobilizing drones, road checkpoints and pouring troops to the occupied West Bank.
The authorities have arrested four out of six, and in a tweet on Sunday Israeli defense forces said the last two gave up, “after being surrounded by security forces acting precisely based on accurate intelligence”.
People, 35-year-old Ayham Kamamji and 26-year-old Munadel Infeiat, are members of Islamic jihad, armed Palestinian Islamic movements.
They were arrested in operation along with the power of counterterrorism in Jenin, in the West Bank, said the army in a short statement to the press, adding that they were “being interrogated”.
Initially from KAFR and, near Jenin, Kamamji was arrested in 2006 and was jailed for a lifetime for the kidnapping and murder of an Israeli young settler, Eliahu Asheri.
Jihad Islam said that Kamamji suffered from stomach and intestinal disease in prison and submitted in “medical negligence” by the Prison Authority.
Infreiat, arrested last year, has been jailed several times before for his role in armed groups, and is waiting for punishment at runaway.
Four other men were arrested again last week including Mahmoud Abdullah Ardah, allegations of runaway masterminds, and Zakaria Zubeidi, a former militant leader of the Fatah movement.