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Israel ready for any scenario after prison escape

September 9, 2021 at 1:07 pm

Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett in Jerusalem, on 8 August 2021 [RONEN ZVULUN/POOL/AFP/Getty Images]

Israeli security agencies are working together to overcome any potential impact of the recent prison escape by Palestinian detainees from the high security Gilboa jail, Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said yesterday.

Bennett’s remarks came during a meeting he held with officials to assess the situation. The meeting was reported to have been attended by the Israeli defence minister, internal security minister, chief of staff, the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) chief, the police commissioner, the prison service commissioner and the national security chief.

“The events have the potential to impact numerous fronts,” Bennett added, stressing that Israel was “prepared for any scenario.”

Defense Minister, Benny Gantz, said that he had a “series of conversations and assessments following the escape incident and its effects,” pointing out that his army was “working with all the forces in order to bring about their [Palestinian prisoners’] capture.”

On Monday, six Palestinian militants escaped from the maximum security Israeli prison through a hole they had dug in the floor of a cell. Five were reported to have belonged to the Islamic Jihad movement and one as a former commander of a local armed group.

Israel’s search campaign for the escapees has, as yet, yielded no results.

READ: Hamas ‘will not abandon prisoners’