Jericho prison (Archive)
Photo: AP
15 Palestinians escape from PA prison
Ynet learned that men were imprisoned in Jericho as part of amnesty agreement between Israel, PA
Altogether 15 prisoners escaped Friday afternoon from a Palestinian Authority prison in Jericho.
Ynet has learned that most of the prisoners belonged to al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades, Fatah's military wing, and were being held there as part of Israel's amnesty agreement with the PA.
Twelve of the prisoners were wanted men from different parts of the West Bank who had been imprisoned in order to maintain an amnesty agreement between Israel and the PA, which grants pardon to members of terror groups who sign contracts committing them to good behavior.
PA officials stated that the prisoners had dug a tunnel dozens of meters long underneath their cells in order to escape.
The escape follows complaints by prisoners held at the Jericho prison, who claimed they were being excluded from the amnesty agreement. A number of riots have taken place, which included strikes, violent attacks on security personnel, and fires.
In April 2008 three al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades operatives wanted by Israel escaped from Jericho's prison. They had previously been arrested for committing crimes against the State. Three weeks earlier 13 operatives from the organization escaped from a PA prison in Nablus.
