Israeli Forces Arrest Families of Escaped Palestinian Prisoners

Ramallah, MINA – Israeli forces arrested at least five family members of Palestinian prisoners who escaped from Israel’s high-security prison this week, the Palestinian prisoners’ agency said.

The family members were arrested in the occupied West Bank on Tuesday, Ahram Online reported.

Six Palestinian prisoners at Gilboa prison in northern Israel escaped Monday through a hole dug under a sink in a prison cell.

Israel has deployed drones, road checkpoints and army missions to Jenin, home to some of the prisoners in the West Bank. The detainees were jailed for their role in attacks on Israel.

The Palestinian Prisoners Club said Israeli soldiers had arrested two brothers of Mahmud Ardah, who was described in local media as masterminding the escape.

The occupation forces have also detained three other people, namely family members of the other two fugitives, Dr. Nidal Ardah and Munadel Infeiat.

The three fugitives are members of the armed group Islamic Jihad in Gaza.

Amani Sarahneh, a spokeswoman for the detention group, said others linked to the fugitives could possibly be arrested, while some were only briefly detained.

The Israeli army, which has occupied the West Bank since 1967, said “several arrests were made overnight,” without elaborating. (T/RE1)

Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)