The Six Terrorists From Gilbo’a Prison Were Apprehended

On September 6, 2021, six high security prisoners escaped from Gilbo’a Prison, an Israeli maximum security prison located in Israel’s Northern District, near the city of Afula. After extensive investigations carried out by the Israel Police and the Israel Prison Service, in collaboration with multiple IDF combat units, all six of the prisoners that escaped were apprehended. 

However, it is critical that the public understands just how dangerous these six criminals are to Israel’s public safety, and just how dangerous it was for them to be on the loose. Five of the six criminals are members of Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), a terrorist organization whose main goal is the establishment of an Islamic Palestinian State in Israel and the destruction of the State of Israel. The remaining escapee is a member of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, the military wing of the Fatah political party, which is currently in control of the Palestinian Authority. 

All six terrorists had been arrested and four of them sentenced for carrying out a multitude of attacks against Israeli civilians and IDF troops alike, as well as taking part in planning terrorist activities. Some of them even hold high-ranking positions within their organizations. These are the six prisoners and why they belong in prison.

Zakaria al-Zoubeidi:

Zakaria Al-Zoubeidi is responsible for planning a suicide bombing in Tel Aviv that killed an Israeli woman during the Second Intifada (2000-2005), and two shooting attacks on buses in Judea and Samaria that injured three civilians in 2018 and 2019. He is also responsible for orchestrating a terrorist attack in Beit She’an, in which a stolen vehicle was driven into a polling station, as well as grenades being hurled and guns being fired into the line of people waiting to vote, killing 6 civilians and injuring 34.

This fugitive is a confirmed leader of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, the armed wing of the Fatah political party, in Jenin.

Zakaria Al-Zoubeidi was nicknamed the “Sheriff of Jenin”, from where he planned his attacks. He imposed a reign of terror on Palestinians, forcing local civilians to fund Fatah and shield its operatives.

Eham Kamamji:

Eham Kamamji is also a member of the PIJ and was arrested for the kidnapping and murder of an 18-year-old Israeli, Eliyahu Asheri, in 2006. Kamamji acted with two accomplices to kidnap and shoot Asheri in the head at point-blank range.

During his hearing in 2007, he claimed: “The teen I murdered was not a boy. He studied in an Israeli Air Force military college. I will not be the first nor the last.” 

Mohammad Qassem Ardah:

Mohammad Qassem Ardah was arrested in 2002 for conducting terrorist activities during the Second Intifada due to his involvement in the upper echelons of the PIJ and for masterminding multiple attacks it carried out.

Like his brother, Mahmoud Abdullah Ardah, he is an Islamic Jihad operative and shamelessly claimed responsibility for numerous terrorist attacks against Israel.

He is also known for publishing an Islamic Jihad youth magazine in the West Bank when he was just a teenager, and has participated in violent riots, thrown explosive Molotov cocktails, and attacked IDF soldiers, as well as being involved in a suicide bombing resulting in the deaths of three civilians.

Yaqoub Mahmoud Qadri:

Yaqoub Mahmoud Qadri is also a member of Palestinian Islamic Jihad. He is responsible for a shooting attack against Israeli civilians near the Jewish community of Shaked. 

On September 18, 2002, this terrorist opened fire on civilians, killing one Israeli. He was arrested in early 2003.

Mahmoud Abdullah Ardah:

Mahmoud Abdullah Ardah is a member of the military wing of Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) terrorist organization, the Al-Quds Brigades. The Al-Quds Brigades is responsible for many terrorist attacks against Israeli civilians, among them multiple car bombings, self-immolations and shooting attacks, and also indiscriminately launching rockets at Israeli populations. 

Mahmoud Abdullah Ardah was arrested for the first time in 1992 and then again in 1996 for his involvement in forming terrorist cells. He was convicted of murdering an Israeli police officer, as well as attempting to murder the officer’s wife.

In 2014, he was put in solitary confinement after the discovery of a secret tunnel from the Israeli prison of Shata. Mahmoud Abdullah Ardah is considered to have masterminded this prison break.

Munadel Nafayat:

Munadel Nafayat has been imprisoned since 2019 as an active member of Islamic Jihad. He was detained in prison for security purposes by posing a threat to Israeli civilians.

What exactly are the terrorist organizations these criminals belong to?

Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), also known as Islamic Jihad, is a Sunni fundamentalist group founded in 1979 by members of the Muslim Brotherhood. 

It is officially recognized as a terrorist organization by many countries, including the U.S., the European Union, Japan, Canada and Australia. 

The Al-Quds Brigades, the military wing of Palestinian Islamic Jihad, is committed to violence. Since its establishment, the Al-Quds Brigades has developed a strategy of terrorizing Israeli civilians through suicide bombings, firing rockets at Israel, and other acts of terrorism. 

PIJ receives significant support from the terrorist organization Hezbollah, the Iranian regime, and Syria. It also collaborates with the military wing of Hamas, the Izz Al-Din Al-Qassam Brigades.

The Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades emerged during the Second Intifada in 2000 as the military wing of the Fatah political party.  

Since September 2000, the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades has attempted and carried out more than 1,500 terrorist attacks, including suicide and car bombings, shootings, kidnappings, and stabbings. 

In 2007, Israel offered amnesty to Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades militants. However, these terrorists continued to claim responsibility for a large number of shootings and suicide bombings, sometimes carried out in cooperation with other radical Islamic groups such as Islamic Jihad.

The world needs to know that these 6 terrorists are not innocent—they escaped prison with the intent to commit even more attacks against Israelis.