Israeli security officials decided to extend the holiday closure of crossings into areas within Palestinian Authority control until Saturday night.
The move comes in response to the escape of six security prisoners from Israel’s Gilboa prison via a tunnel they dug, just before the Rosh Hashanah holiday.
The closure, a routine event that takes place prior to every Israeli Jewish holiday, was implemented as usual at midnight Sunday night; under normal circumstances it would have been lifted after midnight Wednesday night, were it not for the current security situation.
All military, security and police forces are on high alert.
The decision came as a response to riots taking place at several Israeli prisons to protest moves such as the transfer of prisoners to other facilities in the wake of the Gilboa prison break.
The Israel Prison Service said in a statement the prisoner transfers are being carried out to prevent inmates from planning any more escapes and other violence while working together for long periods of time. The six terrorists who escaped had the time to be able to plan their escape, said IPS, because they were working together for a long time.
In Ketziot and Ramon Prisons, prisoners affiliated with the Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorist organization set fires in their cells and burned mattresses to protest plans to transfer some of them to other prisons.
One inmate at Gilboa Prison threw boiling water at a guard on site.
Terrorist prisoners of Section 6 at Ketziot Prison in the Negev “set fire to several rooms, while prisoners in Ramon Prison set fire to rooms in Sections 4 and 5,” the Palestinian Authority’s SAFA News Agency reported.
Opposition to the inmate transfers is escalating with leaders of security prisoners at several prisons issuing a statement that said, “Any wing of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad that the IPS tries to evacuate will be set afire.”
IPS responded by saying its personnel are prepared for any contingency and that they do not let the prisoners set the agenda.
Some 170 prisoners have already been transferred to other facilities. Terrorist inmates from PIJ, Hamas and other terror groups are kept separate from one another in order to prevent the members of various rival groups from attacking each other due to longstanding feuds among them.
Terror Groups Urge Arabs to Aid Escapees
Terror groups have been calling on the Arab public to assist the six escaped terrorist inmates in any way possible and to try and disrupt the manhunt currently taking place.
Hamas issued a statement warning Israel not to continue with what it called “retaliatory measures that violate prisoners’ rights.”
The Iranian-backed terror group, which controls Gaza, said that Israel is responsible for the prisoners’ welfare, adding Hamas “will not remain silent about the violation of their rights and we will not leave the prisoners alone in the battle.”
Prison Guards Suspected of Helping Escapees
Israel Police reportedly now suspect that some prison guards may have collaborated in the escape.
Two Israel Prisons Service officials are slated to be questioned under caution on Thursday by Israel Police Unit Lahav 433, the unit that handles “serious” criminal investigations, including those that involve cabinet ministers.
“Under caution” in Israel means that an individual is questioned as a suspect and informed of his rights ahead of time.
There have also been reports of guards who behaved irresponsibly and even slept on the job. Clearly, the prisoners were aware of these events and knew how to exploit them.
Bennet Holds Situation Assessment
Prime Minister Naftali Bennett met with senior Israeli security officials following the conclusion of the Rosh Hashana holiday, including the ministers of defense and public security, the IDF Chief of Staff, the National Police Commissioner, the head of the Israel Prison Services and the head of the Shin Bet (General Security Services) among others.
“Israel is prepared for any scenario,” Bennett said in a brief statement prior to the meeting, responding to escalating violence at other security facilities and around the country that has followed the prison break.
Following the meeting, Defense Minister Benny Gantz issued a statement saying, “The IDF is working with all the forces in order to bring about their capture, and the closure of the movements from Judea and Samaria will continue.
“The defense establishment and the IDF, together with the GSS, the police and all parties, will continue their efforts to get their hands on the [escaped] prisoners, along with maintaining security on all fronts.”
Escalation of Violence in PA Areas
Israeli military forces were faced with attacks and violence by Palestinian Authority Arabs near the Huwara checkpoint south of Shechem (Nablus) shortly after the start of rioting in the prisons, as well as elsewhere.
PA Arab violence was also reported in Ramallah, Hebron, Jenin, Tubas, Bethlehem and Anabta, Galei Tzahal IDF Army Radio reported Wednesday night. At least 500 rioters were involved in the violence, according to the report.
Shots were fired at Israeli forces in Ramallah and in several other locations. By 10:30 pm Wednesday night there were no reports of casualties.
In addition to Ramallah, “solidarity” events supporting the escaped terrorist prisoners were reported in Hamas-controlled Gaza City, Rafah and elsewhere in the enclave.
In northern Gaza, “hundreds of citizens” participated in a rally organized by Hamas in Jabalya, according to SAFA.
“Solidarity events” were also reported in Tulkarem, Shechem, Hebron and Bethlehem.
PA, Hamas, PIJ Issue Warnings to Israel
The Palestinian Authority issued a statement via its Commission for Prisoners and Ex-Prisoner Affairs, calling on
“the international community and its institutions, led by the International Committee of the Red Cross, to act now and immediately to put an end to the Israeli Nazism practiced by the administration of occupation prisons and repression units at these moments in the Negev prison.”
The PA Commission warned, “The continuation of escalation in this way means a real war inside prisons and detention centers, and harming the lives of prisoners will only be met with a real confrontation that rises to the level of events inside and outside prisons.”
“Our people and their resistance will not leave the prisoners alone to face the arrogance of the occupation jailer,” said former Hamas prisoner Iyad Abu Fanunah, SAFA reported.
“The chief of staff of the resistance in Palestine, Muhammad Al-Deif and his brothers in all the battalions and military organizations follow all the details of every event taking place inside the prisons,” Abu Fanunah said.
PIJ leader Daoud Shehab added that the cause of the prisoners “is one of national consensus on which no two disagree,” calling events inside the Israeli security facilities “against our prisoners is an unforgiveable crime and aggression that cannot pass unnoticed.
“The Sword of Jerusalem, which the resistance seized to protect Jerusalem, Jerusalemites and the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood, can again be raised at any moment in order to defend the prisoners,” Shehab said. (Ed note: ‘Sword of Jerusalem’ is the moniker given to the 11-day mini-war on Israel by Hamas this past May.)
“The occupation should understand the message well and pick it up before it is too late,” Shehab added.
Gil Tanenbaum and TPS contributed to this report.