Gilboa Prison Break
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Guard tower Heth (ח׳) in the Gilboa prison, under which was the exit of the escape tunnel The Gilboa Prison break was a security event in
Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...
which occurred on 6 September 2021, when six
Palestinian Palestinians () are an Arab ethnonational group native to the Levantine region of Palestine. *: "Palestine was part of the first wave of conquest following Muhammad's death in 632 CE; Jerusalem fell to the Caliph Umar in 638. The indigenous p ...
prisoners escaped from
Gilboa Prison Gilboa Prison () is a high security prison in northern Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egy ...
, a
maximum security prison Maximum security prisons and supermax prisons are grades of high security level used by prison A prison, also known as a jail, gaol, penitentiary, detention center, correction center, correctional facility, or remand center, is a facility wher ...
in northern Israel, through a tunnel. Among the escapees was
Zakaria Zubeidi Zakaria Muhammad 'Abdelrahman Zubeidi (; other spellings include Zakariyah Zbeidi, Zacharia and Zubaidi; born 1976) is the former Jenin chief of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades. He is considered a "symbol of the Intifada", and was on Israel's most ...
, former leader of
al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades The al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades () are a Fatah-aligned coalition of Palestinian armed groups in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Created in 2000 amidst the Second Intifada, the Brigades previously operated as the official armed wing of the F ...
in
Jenin Jenin ( ; , ) is a city in the West Bank, Palestine, and is the capital of the Jenin Governorate. It is a hub for the surrounding towns. Jenin came under Israeli occupied territories, Israeli occupation in 1967, and was put under the administra ...
. The incident is considered to be the most significant prison break in Israel's history. By September 19, all 6 escapees had been re-captured.


Background

Gilboa Prison opened in 2004, and first it was called Shita B as part of the Shita Prison system. Shortly after, it became a separate independent prison with high security level designed for security prisoners following the
Second Intifada The Second Intifada (; ), also known as the Al-Aqsa Intifada, was a major uprising by Palestinians against Israel and its Israeli-occupied territories, occupation from 2000. Starting as a civilian uprising in Jerusalem and October 2000 prot ...
. In August 2014, a similar escape attempt was foiled when an underground tunnel that prisoners had been digging was discovered by Israeli security forces. Cellphone call barriers were installed in the prison, but they were activated at an inefficient level, contrary to regulations and following protests from the part of the prisoners.


The escape

The prisoners escaped through an underground tunnel in the prison's drainage system from the bathroom of cell number 5 in the second branch of the prison. The tunnel was about 22 meters long and had been surreptitiously dug over an extended period prior to the escape. A probe of the escape led by
Shin Bet The Israel Security Agency (ISA; , (GSS); ), better known by the Hebrew acronyms, acronyms Shabak (; ; ) or Shin Bet (from the abbreviation of , "Security Service"), is Israel's internal Security agency, security service. Its motto is "''Magen ...
concluded that the digging begun as early as November 2020, and at least 11 prisoners helped dig the tunnel. The excavation was done with plates and pan handles, and dumped the excavated dirt in the prison's sewer system, garbage cans, and hollow shafts. A guard responsible for maintaining the sewer system had noticed blockages but did not report them to prison authorities. The prisoners hid the entry hole under a floorboard. A day before the escape, the most senior prisoner of the group,
Zakaria Zubeidi Zakaria Muhammad 'Abdelrahman Zubeidi (; other spellings include Zakariyah Zbeidi, Zacharia and Zubaidi; born 1976) is the former Jenin chief of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades. He is considered a "symbol of the Intifada", and was on Israel's most ...
, requested a transfer to the cell where the five other prisoners were located. The request was accepted with no suspicions raised. The escape occurred on 6 September 2021, in the middle of the night, after 1:00 am. The hole from which the prisoners emerged was directly beneath a watchtower which was unmanned due to a manpower shortage. A guard in a nearby watchtower was asleep at the time. She later claimed that she had got up after hearing noises but didn't see anything and went back to sleep. As the prisoners emerged from the tunnel, guard dogs in the prison yard started barking, activating a warning system which trained security cameras in the direction that the dogs were barking. However, the guard who was supposed to be monitoring the video feed was allegedly watching television instead. The prisoners left their prison uniforms outside the tunnel and changed clothes. Although it was initially suspected that some of them had been picked up by a waiting car, Israeli investigators later determined that they had no vehicles during the break and had traveled on foot. The first report regarding a suspected escape reached the police at 1:49 am, from a citizen driving on Route 71 who called the police and reported that he saw figures running in the fields. Within minutes, a patrol car arrived at the scene and began scanning it. An employee at a gas station in the area later reported a man who looked strange passing through the area. At 2:14 am, the deputy commander of the
Beit She'an Beit She'an ( '), also known as Beisan ( '), or Beth-shean, is a town in the Northern District (Israel), Northern District of Israel. The town lies at the Beit She'an Valley about 120 m (394 feet) below sea level. Beit She'an is believed to ...
police station informed the prison control center about the reports of suspicious figures in the prison's vicinity that had come in. At around 3:00 am, farmers from the localities near the prison reported suspicious figures observed in the agricultural areas of the localities. At Gilboa Prison, prison staff carried out a headcount of the inmates. At 3:29 am, the staff reported that three inmates were missing. This was upgraded to six at 4:00 am. Based on interrogations of recaptured prisoners,
Shin Bet The Israel Security Agency (ISA; , (GSS); ), better known by the Hebrew acronyms, acronyms Shabak (; ; ) or Shin Bet (from the abbreviation of , "Security Service"), is Israel's internal Security agency, security service. Its motto is "''Magen ...
determined that after escaping, the six men walked about 7 kilometers (4.3 miles) to the Israeli-Arab town of
Na'ura Na'ura (, ) is an Arab village in northern Israel. Located to the east of Afula, it falls under the jurisdiction of the Gilboa Regional Council. In it had a population of . History In 1517 Na'ura was incorporated into the Ottoman Empire with ...
, where they asked a few local residents to drive them to Jenin and were refused. They then spent less than an hour in the local mosque where they showered and changed clothes before leaving town. After hearing that a significant number of security forces were deployed along the border with the West Bank, they decided to split into three pairs and go into hiding in northern Israel. Surveillance footage captured someone thought to be one of the suspects crossing into the West Bank near the village of
Jalamah Jalamah () or Jalameh is a Palestinian village in the West Bank, located 5 km north of the city of Jenin in the northern West Bank. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, the town had a population of 2,304 inhabitants ...
through a gap in the West Bank barrier.


The escapees

Except Zubeidi, the escaped prisoners were Islamic Jihad members, four of which were serving life sentences after being convicted of planning or carrying out attacks that killed Israelis, while the youngest prisoner had been held without charge for two years in
administrative detention Administrative detention is arrest and detention of individuals by the state without trial. A number of jurisdictions claim that it is done for security reasons. Many countries claim to use administrative detention as a means to combat terrorism ...
: *
Zakaria Zubeidi Zakaria Muhammad 'Abdelrahman Zubeidi (; other spellings include Zakariyah Zbeidi, Zacharia and Zubaidi; born 1976) is the former Jenin chief of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades. He is considered a "symbol of the Intifada", and was on Israel's most ...
(45), Commander of the
Fatah Fatah ( ; ), formally the Palestinian National Liberation Movement (), is a Palestinian nationalist and Arab socialist political party. It is the largest faction of the confederated multi-party Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and ...
's
al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades The al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades () are a Fatah-aligned coalition of Palestinian armed groups in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Created in 2000 amidst the Second Intifada, the Brigades previously operated as the official armed wing of the F ...
in
Jenin Jenin ( ; , ) is a city in the West Bank, Palestine, and is the capital of the Jenin Governorate. It is a hub for the surrounding towns. Jenin came under Israeli occupied territories, Israeli occupation in 1967, and was put under the administra ...
. Arrested for organizing numerous attacks against Israelis during the
Second Intifada The Second Intifada (; ), also known as the Al-Aqsa Intifada, was a major uprising by Palestinians against Israel and its Israeli-occupied territories, occupation from 2000. Starting as a civilian uprising in Jerusalem and October 2000 prot ...
including a suicide bombing in
Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( or , ; ), sometimes rendered as Tel Aviv-Jaffa, and usually referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the Gush Dan metropolitan area of Israel. Located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline and with a popula ...
and an attack on a Likud polling station, as well as two shooting attacks on buses in November 2018 and January 2019. His trial was ongoing at the time of the escape. * Mahmoud Abdullah Ardah (46), a member of
Palestinian Islamic Jihad The Islamic Jihad Movement in Palestine (, ''Harakat al-JihÄd al-IslÄmi fi FilastÄ«n''), commonly known simply as Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), is a Palestinian Islamist paramilitary organization formed in 1981. PIJ formed as an offsh ...
, was imprisoned since 1996 and was convicted for carrying out terror attacks and membership in Islamic Jihad. * Mohammed Qassem Ardah (39), Mahmoud Abdullah's brother. Imprisoned in 2002 for carrying out terror attacks and membership in Islamic Jihad. * Yaqoub Mahmoud Qadri (49), member of Palestinian Islamic Jihad, imprisoned since 2003 for planning attacks against Israelis and membership in Islamic Jihad. * Ayham Nayef Kamamji (35), imprisoned since 2006 for the
murder of Eliyahu Asheri The murder of Eliyahu Asheri was an attack carried out on June 25, 2006, in which Palestinian Popular Resistance Committees (PRC) militants kidnapped, and later murdered the 18-year-old Israeli Israeli_settlement, settler and high school studen ...
. * Monadel Yacoub Nafe’at (26), member of Islamic Jihad, imprisoned under
administrative detention Administrative detention is arrest and detention of individuals by the state without trial. A number of jurisdictions claim that it is done for security reasons. Many countries claim to use administrative detention as a means to combat terrorism ...
since 2019.


Manhunt

After learning of the escape, the
Israel Police The Israel Police (; ) is the civilian police force of Israel. As with most other police forces in the world, its duties include crime fighting, traffic control, maintaining public safety, and counter-terrorism. It is under the jurisdiction o ...
, including units of the
Israel Border Police The Israel Border Police () is the gendarmerie and border security branch of the Israel National Police. It is also commonly known by its Hebrew abbreviation Magav (), meaning border guard; its members are colloquially known as ''magavnikim ...
, began searching for the escaped prisoners in cooperation with the
Shin Bet The Israel Security Agency (ISA; , (GSS); ), better known by the Hebrew acronyms, acronyms Shabak (; ; ) or Shin Bet (from the abbreviation of , "Security Service"), is Israel's internal Security agency, security service. Its motto is "''Magen ...
, the General Security Service. The
Israel Defense Forces The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the State of Israel. It consists of three service branches: the Israeli Ground Forces, the Israeli Air Force, and ...
deployed two battalions, two reconnaissance teams, a number of special forces squads, and aerial surveillance teams to assist in the search efforts. The Shin Bet initially believed the prisoners had been in contact with people outside the prison using a smuggled mobile phone and that they had been picked up in a car. Security officers in localities near Gilboa Prison were alerted on the escape, and about 200 roadblocks were set up on the roads, just hours before the
Rosh Hashana Rosh Hashanah (, , ) is the New Year in Judaism. The biblical name for this holiday is Yom Teruah (, , ). It is the first of the High Holy Days (, , 'Days of Awe"), as specified by Leviticus 23:23–25, that occur in the late summer/early autu ...
holiday. Checkpoints were put up in the vicinity of the prison and throughout the country, including near the border with the
Gaza Strip The Gaza Strip, also known simply as Gaza, is a small territory located on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea; it is the smaller of the two Palestinian territories, the other being the West Bank, that make up the State of Palestine. I ...
due to concerns that the prisoners might try to escape there. A unified control room was established at Gilboa Prison, and Israeli police forces were deployed in the localities near the prison. Large police forces converged on the area, and drones, helicopters, and dogs were used in the manhunt. Police entered the nearby Israeli-Arab localities of
Tamra Tamra (, or ) is an Arab city in the North District of Israel located in the Lower Galilee north of the city of Shefa-Amr and approximately east of Acre. In it had a population of . History Tamra is an ancient village on a hill. Old square ...
and
Na'ura Na'ura (, ) is an Arab village in northern Israel. Located to the east of Afula, it falls under the jurisdiction of the Gilboa Regional Council. In it had a population of . History In 1517 Na'ura was incorporated into the Ottoman Empire with ...
, searched mosques, and arrested three Na'ura residents over suspicions that they had assisted the escape. Although police officials considered the possibility of the escapees carrying out an attack in Israel unlikely, they did not rule out the possibility and placed the police on high alert. The police's Northern District commander said that there were no security advisories in place for residents of the area but urged them to exercise increased vigilance and report anything suspicious. Patrols around synagogues were increased as a precautionary measure. Due to suspicion that the prisoners would attempt to flee to either
Jordan Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. Jordan is bordered by Syria to the north, Iraq to the east, Saudi Arabia to the south, and Israel and the occupied Palestinian ter ...
or to the West Bank city of
Jenin Jenin ( ; , ) is a city in the West Bank, Palestine, and is the capital of the Jenin Governorate. It is a hub for the surrounding towns. Jenin came under Israeli occupied territories, Israeli occupation in 1967, and was put under the administra ...
(all of the escapees were from the Jenin area), additional Israeli troops were deployed to the border with
Jordan Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. Jordan is bordered by Syria to the north, Iraq to the east, Saudi Arabia to the south, and Israel and the occupied Palestinian ter ...
and the
Seam Zone Seam Zone () is a term used to refer to a land area in the Israeli-occupied West Bank located east of the Green Line and west of Israel's separation barrier, populated largely by Israelis in settlements such as Alfei Menashe, Ariel, Beit A ...
separating Israel and the West Bank. Israeli troops also carried out searches in the vicinity of Jenin.


Capturing the fugitives

On the night of 10 September, Mahmoud Ardah and Yaqoub Mahmoud Qadri were recaptured near Mount Precipice in
Nazareth Nazareth is the largest Cities in Israel, city in the Northern District (Israel), Northern District of Israel. In its population was . Known as "the Arab capital of Israel", Nazareth serves as a cultural, political, religious, economic and ...
, four days after the escape. They had been spotted rummaging through trash bins in an apparent search for something to eat, and had approached a woman to ask her for food. Arab residents from Nazareth, suspecting them to be among the escapees, notified the police. The two were arrested after a chase involving a helicopter. On the early morning of 11 September, a few hours after the first arrests, two more of the escapees, Zakaria Zubeidi and Mohammed Qassem Ardah, were arrested in northern Israel at a truck stop near the town of Shibli–Umm al-Ghanam after police were tipped off by a local Israeli-Arab man from a nearby village who had encountered them while riding a dune buggy in the area. They had asked him for a ride but he refused. Military trackers subsequently traced their footprints to the truck stop parking lot where they were caught. Arida was found sleeping under a semi trailer while Zubeidi was found wandering nearby. He tried to escape but was quickly overpowered. Kamamji and Nafe'at, the final two fugitives, were traced to Jenin and were determined to be moving between different safehouses. Israeli security forces planned a complex operation to arrest them over several days. Israeli Public Security Minister
Omer Bar-Lev Omer Israel Bar-Lev (; born 2 October 1953) is an Israeli politician who formerly served as Ministry of Public Security (Israel), Minister of Public Security. He was previously a member of the Knesset for the Israeli Labor Party. He was placed se ...
told Israeli media that only one of them was determined to be in the West Bank while another was still in Israel so as to lull them into a false sense of security. On the early morning of 19 September, they were arrested. The operation was carried out by the IDF Haruv Reconnaissance Batalion and the
Yamam Yamam (), also known as National Counter-Terrorism Unit, is Israel's national counter-terrorism unit, one of four special units of the Israel Border Police. The Yamam is capable of both hostage-rescue operations and offensive take-over raids ag ...
special police unit. One force surrounded the building where they were hiding. In order to distract Palestinian militant factions, a larger force of troops was deployed elsewhere in the city to draw attention away from the location of the raid. There were reported exchanges of gunfire during the operation. The two fugitives surrendered without a fight. Two accomplices from Jenin who had helped to hide them were also arrested.


Aftermath

The
Israel Prison Service The Israel Prison Service (, ''Sherut Batei HaSohar'', , ''IdÄrat al-SujÅ«n al-IsrÄ’īlÄ«yyah''), known in Israel by its acronym Shabas () or IPS in English, is the state (polity), state agency responsible for overseeing prisons in Israel. It ...
reacted to the escape by imposing new restrictions on Palestinian security prisoners and moved security prisoners between facilities. As a result, riots among Palestinian prisoners broke out in a few prisons, and a number of cells at
Ktzi'ot Prison Ktzi'ot Prison (, ) is an Israeli detention facility located in the Negev desert south-west of Beersheba. It is Israel's largest detention facility in terms of land area, encompassing . During the First Intifada, Ktzi'ot was the location of ...
and Ramon Prison were set on fire. The Metzada Unit, the Prison Service's special operations unit, was called in to deal with the disturbances at Ktzi'ot Prison. The Prison Service subsequently decided to have all prisons examined by teams of engineers to detect any other flaws that could potentially lead to future escapes. Police questioned 14 Prison Service staff on suspicion of having assisted the escapees. Investigators later determined that the escapees had not received any help from within the prison. The public and the press were concerned following the incident and calls were made for head of Israeli Prison Service
Katy Perry Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson (born October 25, 1984), known professionally as Katy Perry, is an American singer, songwriter, and television personality. She is one of the List of best-selling music artists, best-selling music artists in hist ...
, as well as Public Security Minister
Omer Bar-Lev Omer Israel Bar-Lev (; born 2 October 1953) is an Israeli politician who formerly served as Ministry of Public Security (Israel), Minister of Public Security. He was previously a member of the Knesset for the Israeli Labor Party. He was placed se ...
to resign. The Commissioner of the Israel Prison Services said she would not step down as a result of the prison break, while opposition
Member of Knesset Lists of Knesset members cover members of the Knesset of Israel. They are organized by session, by ethnicity and by position. By session * List of members of the first Knesset (1949–51) * List of members of the second Knesset (1951–55) * L ...
Miri Regev Miriam "Miri" Regev (; born 26 May 1965) is an Israeli politician who currently serves as Minister of Transport, National Infrastructure and Road Safety. Previously she was Minister of Culture and Sport and Acting Prime Minister of Israel. Sh ...
called on the government to establish a parliamentary inquiry committee "to investigate the conduct and incompetence of prisons and prison security".
Israeli Prime Minister The prime minister of Israel (, Hebrew abbreviation: ; , ''Ra'īs al-Ḥukūma'') is the head of government and chief executive of the State of Israel. Israel is a parliamentary republic with a president as the head of state. The presiden ...
Naftali Bennett Naftali Bennett (, ; born 25 March 1972) is an Israeli politician and businessman who served as the prime minister of Israel from 13 June 2021 to 30 June 2022, and as the alternate prime minister from 1 July to 8 November 2022. Bennett was t ...
spoke to Omer Bar-Lev and "emphasised that this is a grave incident that requires an across-the-board effort by the security forces" to find the fugitives. Islamic Jihad described the jailbreak as "heroic" and said it would "shock the Israeli defence system", while
Hamas The Islamic Resistance Movement, abbreviated Hamas (the Arabic acronym from ), is a Palestinian nationalist Sunni Islam, Sunni Islamism, Islamist political organisation with a military wing, the Qassam Brigades. It has Gaza Strip under Hama ...
spokesman Fawzi Barhoum said it was a "great victory" that proves "the will and determination of our brave soldiers inside the prisons of the enemy cannot be defeated". Palestinians hailed the escapees as national heroes. Some Palestinian social media compared the break-out to that in the film the Shawshank Redemption, while
Gideon Levy Gideon Levy (, ; born 2 June 1953) is an Israeli journalist and author. Levy writes opinion pieces and a weekly column for the newspaper ''Haaretz'' that often focus on the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories. Levy has won prizes ...
, a personal friend of Zubeidi, drew an analogy with an event celebrated in Jewish history, the
Acre Prison break The Acre Prison break was an operation undertaken by the Irgun on May 4, 1947, in the Mandatory Palestine, British Mandate of Palestine, in which its men broke through the walls of the Acre Prison, Central Prison in Acre, Israel, Acre and freed ...
organized by members of the underground movement
Irgun The Irgun (), officially the National Military Organization in the Land of Israel, often abbreviated as Etzel or IZL (), was a Zionist paramilitary organization that operated in Mandatory Palestine between 1931 and 1948. It was an offshoot of th ...
. In response to the decision to move Palestinian security prisoners between prisons, Palestinian factions declared a "day of rage". Demonstrations and clashes between Palestinians and Israeli troops took place throughout the West Bank, during which Palestinian rioters fired at Israeli troops manning the Jalamah checkpoint. Following the capture of two of the escapees on 10 September, there were renewed clashes in the West Bank, including live fire and molotov cocktail attacks against the Jalamah checkpoint. Israeli troops returned fire at three Palestinians near
Hebron Hebron (; , or ; , ) is a Palestinian city in the southern West Bank, south of Jerusalem. Hebron is capital of the Hebron Governorate, the largest Governorates of Palestine, governorate in the West Bank. With a population of 201,063 in ...
after they had thrown molotov cocktails, wounding one. In Israel, gunmen fired at the home of Jamal Hakroush, a senior Israeli-Arab official in the Israel Police, in
Kafr Kanna Kafr Kanna (, ''Kafr KanÄ''; ) is an Arab town in the Galilee, part of the Northern District of Israel. It is associated by Christians with the New Testament village of Cana, where Jesus turned water into wine. In its population was . It ...
, possibly as a reaction to the arrests of the two escapees. The Israeli government announced that a state commission of inquiry would be formed to look into the failures of the Israel Prison Service, headed by retired judge
Menachem Finkelstein Menachem Finkelstein () was Israel's Military Advocate General from 2000 to 2004, during the height of the Second Intifada. Finkelstein was born in 1951 and received an Orthodox Jewish upbringing. He passed the Israeli bar exam in 1976. He se ...
. On 29 September, the Israel Police and Shin Bet announced an end to their probe of the escape. Five inmates of Gilboa Prison were determined to have assisted in the break and state prosecutors said that they would be indicted. On 3 October, the six Palestinian prisoners were indicted for escaping from lawful custody.


See also

*
List of fugitives from justice who disappeared This is a list of fugitives from justice, notable people who disappeared or evaded capture while being sought by law enforcement agencies in connection with a crime, and who are currently sought or were sought for the duration of their presumed ...


References

{{Reflist, 30em 2021 crimes in Israel September 2021 crimes in Asia September 2021 in Asia Prison escapes in Asia Israeli–Palestinian conflict