At least 10 more inmates knew about the plan to escape from Gilboa maximum security prison that last week led to a massive manhunt for the six fugitives and uncovered a series of systemic errors within the prison system.
Their Hollywood-style escape last Monday through a hole in their cell floor at Gilboa Prison in northern Israel, delighted Palestinians and embarrassed Israel. Four out of six prisoners have been captured over the weekend, while the other two remain at large.
After initial suspicions, investigators from the Prison Officers Investigation Unit now believe that 10 other prisoners knew about the plan, and some of them were already interrogated, while others will face questioning in the next few days.
If these suspicions turn out to be true, the intelligence personal at the prison would face even more scrutiny since they missed the warning signs of the escaped being planned.
In addition, the investigators found that a vacuum truck driver, who empties the sewage at the prison, reported to one of the guards that there is a huge amount of sand in the sewer, but was ignored.
Other prisoners working near the sewage also apparently knew about the sand and when the guard found out about the escape, he apparently attempted to get them to change their stories.
The guard is set to be interrogated on suspicion of negligence and obstruction of justice.
In the meantime, the manhunt for the other two fugitives continues and it is estimated that at least one of them managed to make his way to the West Bank. Deputy A, commander of the unmanned vehicle squadron, said that they feel they are getting closer to capturing the fugitives.
"The chances of one of these prisoners being moving around without us noticing are very slim," said the deputy. "Moreover, we can also see any movement during the night and point all the forces in that direction in real time."
On Monday, High Commissioner of the Israel Prison Service Katy Perry, participated in a discussion regarding the escape and said that all accusations of negligence will be examined. "Alongside this incident, 300 escape attempts have been prevented over the past decade," she said.
Furthermore, she stated a special team of engineers was formed in order to go through every cell in the prison, check their engineering structure and to see what's underneath it.