Israel captures four out of six Palestinian fugitives
Josh BreinerAdi HashmonaiJack Khoury - Haaretz.com
▻https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/israel-captures-four-out-of-six-palestinian-fugitives-1.10199141
Two more Palestinian fugitives, including former Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigade leader Zakaria Zubeidi , were captured by security forces in northern Israel on Saturday, bringing the number of apprehended prisoners from Monday’s jailbreak to four out of six.
Zubeidi and the second prisoner, Mohammed Aradeh , were arrested hours after the first two fugitives were caught. Police and Shin Bet forces found them in Umm al-Ghanam, between an olive grove and a truck lot.
Police and military forces sweeping the area spotted two suspicious people, and a police counter-terror unit were called to the scene to identify them. According to a police source, Zubeidi resisted arrest, but was quickly restrained.
A defense official told Haaretz that Zubeidi and Aradeh looked exhausted and dusty when they were apprehended, and that they had been hiding outdoors for a long period of time. He estimated that as in the case of the fugitives arrested Friday, the two had not received any help once they escaped and did not plan their route, counter to preliminary assessments.
Umm al-Ghanam residents said that security forces had been searching the village since the middle of the night, and that locals remained in their homes during that time. One resident, identified as Mohammed, said: “I don’t believe that the escapees were helped, and I also don’t believe that people tried to shelter them. Our village is very quiet.”
Defense officials believe that of the two high-security inmates who escaped Gilboa Prison on Monday and remain at large, one crossed into the West Bank, while the other is still in Israeli territory.
Since they were caught, the four have been in Shin Bet custody, and they are expected to have their detention extended on Saturday night. The investigators will likely request that they be barred from meeting with their lawyers, as in past security investigations. Zubeidi’s lawyer, Avigdor Feldman, said he asked the police and public security minister to meet with his client soon.
Police and security forces consider the capture of the four escaped prisoners to be a significant achievement. They believe that capturing the four inmates will lead to new intelligence on the two inmates who remain at large, and will deal a blow to Palestinian morale, which has been high in the wake of the prison break.
Hamas Spokesman Fazi Barhoum said in response that “The arrest of the heroic prisoners is another round in the open and ongoing battle with the occupation. What happened strengthens the Palestinian people to continue the struggle against the occupation and support of prisoners.”
Six Palestinian prisoners escaped from Gilboa Prison early Monday morning through a tunnel they dug from within their cell, apparently over the last six months. All the escaped convicts – five members of Islamic Jihad and one Fatah member – are convicted or charged with planning or carrying out terror attacks against Israelis, including shootings, bombings and kidnappings. Four have been captured thus far, and Israeli forces are continuing to search for the remaining two.
Even though the prison break was well planned, defense officials said, the inmates broke out into groups of two afterwards, and improvised their next steps in an attempt to evade the security forces. Of the last two, one is believed to be hiding in the Galilee region of northern Israel, while the other is believed to have successfully crossed into the West Bank.
Zubeidi is the most infamous inmate of the six. A former commander of Fatah’s Al-Aqsa Martyr’s Brigade, he was behind the 2002 attack at a Likud party branch in Beit She’an in which six people were killed, among other attacks. He has long been considered one of the most wanted men in the West Bank. He was arrested in 2019 and charged with carrying out two shootings in Beit El in 2018 and 2019, as well as a number of terror attacks that were planned during the Second Intifada. His trial is ongoing.
The second inmate captured is Mohammed Aradeh, who was serving three life sentences plus 20 years for his activities as part of the Islamic Jihad’s military wing, of which he is considered a senior member. He was arrested in 2002 and convicted of membership in a terrorist organization, planning and carrying out terror attacks against Israelis and providing safe haven for terrorists.
Aradeh’s cousin, Mahmoud, is believed to be the one who planned the escape from Gilboa Prison. He was captured several hours earlier in Nazareth.
On Friday the first Two Palestinian fugitives were captured in Nazareth. Islamic Jihad members Mahmoud Aradeh and Yakub Kadari were caught after civilians spotted two suspicious figures and reported them to the police. The two were taken for questioning by the Shin Bet security services. They did not resist arrest.
Shortly after Friday’s arrests, Gaza militants launched a rocket into Israel. The missile was intercepted. Following the launch Israeli fighter jets attacked several Hamas targets in the strip. No injuries were reported. In the West Bank, Palestinians who gathered to rally in support of the escaped prisoners clashed with Israeli forces, and in some areas shot at and hurled improvised explosives at the soldiers.