By TOI STAFF—
Israeli police set up hundreds of roadblocks and the country’s top political and military leaders held security consultations Monday afternoon, as a manhunt for six prison escapees, including a notorious leader of a terror group, continued into the start of the Rosh Hashanah holiday.
The search for the six has centered around the cities of Beit She’an and Afula, near the high security Gilboa prison that they escaped from in what is considered among the most serious jailbreaks in the nation’s history.
While the prison is only some six kilometers (four miles) from the West Bank, police reportedly believe the escapees to still be inside Israel.
Police and military officials have beefed up security nationwide, fearing that the escapees could carry out attacks against Israeli soldiers or civilians, or inspire copycat attacks, with some Palestinians celebrating the jailbreak.
Some 200 roadblocks have been set up, a police official said, and crossing points to the West Bank were also shuttered, with soldiers dispatched to check all Palestinians returning from work in Israel to the West Bank. Continue Reading…
