Israeli forces continue to search for six Palestinians who on Monday escaped from the maximum-security Gilboa prison. Five fugitives are members of Iranian-backed Islamic Jihad. The sixth is a former leader of Fatah’s Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades. Both are US-designated terror groups.
Most of the escapees were serving life sentences for their roles in attacks on Israeli civilians. Ayham Kamamji, for instance, was convicted of kidnapping and murdering teenager Eliyahu Asheri.
Nevertheless, Palestinians celebrated the jailbreak, with candy handed out across the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas’ ruling Fatah faction praised the development. An official Twitter account posted a photo of Abbas and Zakaria Zubeidi, who in 2002 planned an Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades attack that killed six Israelis.
This apparently came as a surprise to The New York Times, which downplayed Abbas’ responsibility by claiming Fatah was only “loosely linked” to the Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades. In reality, Palestinian officials are on record gloating that they bear “full responsibility” for the terror group, which is an indivisible “part of Fatah.”
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