Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett speaks during the play furniture gathering astatine the Prime Minister's bureau successful Jerusalem, Sunday, Sept. 5, 2021. (AP Photo/Sebastian Scheiner, Pool)

Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett speaks during the play furniture gathering astatine the Prime Minister's bureau successful Jerusalem, Sunday, Sept. 5, 2021. (AP Photo/Sebastian Scheiner, Pool) (Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

TEL AVIV – Israeli forces connected Monday launched a monolithic manhunt successful bluish Israel and the occupied West Bank aft six Palestinian prisoners escaped overnight from a high-security installation successful an highly uncommon breakout.

Officials said they person erected roadblocks and are conducting patrols successful the area. Israel's Army Radio besides said 400 prisoners are being moved arsenic a protective measurement against immoderate further flight attempts. The vigor said the prisoners escaped done a passageway from the Gilboa prison, which is expected to beryllium 1 of Israel's astir unafraid facilities. The men reportedly appeared to person received immoderate extracurricular help.

Israel’s premier minister, Naftali Bennett, called it a “grave incident” that required maximum effort by Israel’s assorted information branches.

He said helium was receiving changeless updates connected the situation break, which occurred conscionable hours earlier Israel was to people the Jewish New Year. Authorities seemingly did not judge the escaped prisoners posed a menace to the wide public, and determination were nary instructions for radical to change their routines.

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The escapees were believed to person been headed for Jenin, wherever the internationally recognized Palestinian Authority wields small power and wherever militants successful caller weeks person openly clashed with Israeli forces. Israeli helicopters were seen flying implicit Jenin connected Monday morning.

The Palestinian Prisoners’ Club, which represents some erstwhile and existent prisoners, identified the men arsenic ranging successful property from 26 to 49 years old. They see Zakaria Zubeidi, 46, who has been detained since 2019. Zubeidi was a person successful the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, affiliated with the Fatah movement, during the 2nd Palestinian uprising implicit 20 years ago.

Four of the different prisoners had been serving beingness sentences, the prisoners' radical said.

Photos appearing successful Israeli media amusement what was purported to beryllium the extremity of the flight tunnel, with 1 representation showing an Israeli information antheral successful a achromatic T-shirt inspecting a spread successful the ground.

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Palestinian militant groups swiftly praised the breakout.

“This is simply a large heroic act, which volition origin a terrible daze to the Israeli information strategy and volition represent a terrible stroke to the service and the full strategy successful Israel,” said Daoud Shehab, a spokesperson for Islamic Jihad.

Hamas spokesperson Fawzi Barhoum formed the flight similarly, saying it shows “that the conflict for state with the occupier is continuous and extended, wrong prisons. and extracurricular to extract this right.”

Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This worldly whitethorn not beryllium published, broadcast, rewritten oregon redistributed without permission.