Jailbreak augurs well for liberation of Palestinians: Knesset member

By Zain Khalil

JERUSALEM (AA) – Ayman Odeh, an Arab member of Knesset (Israel's parliament), said Saturday the escape of six Palestinian inmates from a high-security Israeli prison indicates that millions of Palestinians can liberate themselves from the decades-long Israeli occupation.

"If the six prisoners can escape the narrow, crowded prison, then millions of Palestinians can stop the occupation," Odeh said in a Facebook post.

On Monday, six Palestinian inmates tunneled out of the high-security Gilboa prison in northern Israel. Israeli forces, however, have managed to capture four of them after a manhunt.

Odeh, who heads the Arab Joint List, which has six seats in the 120-member Knesset, said the jailbreak has put the issue of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails in the forefront again.

The jailbreak has been hailed as a “big victory” by Palestinians, while Israelis decried it as a major security and intelligence failure.

There are nearly 4,850 Palestinian detainees in Israeli jails, including 41 women and 225 children along with 540 Palestinians held without charges or trials under Israel’s administrative detention policy.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar