The last two escapees from Gilboa Prison earlier this month, Munadil Nafayat and Iham Kahamji, were arrested on Saturday night by Israeli forces in Jenin, putting an end to a nearly two-week-long manhunt.
The arrest was made by the IDF, Shin Bet and police special forces, based on intelligence from the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency).
The operation was overseen by Brig.-Gen. Yaniv Alaluf, the head of the IDF’s Judea and Samaria Division, which is responsible for the West Bank, and by Col. Arik Moyal.
“The Yamam, Shin Bet and the Haruv Reconnaissance Unit entered the city of Jenin, sealed off and surrounded the house, including use of gunfire around the building in which the fugitive terrorists were hiding. They came out unarmed and without resistance,” the IDF said in a statement, adding that “the two terrorists were caught alive and were handed over for interrogation by the security forces.”
In a joint operation with the ISA, @IsraelPolice and the IDF, the remaining 2 terrorists who escaped from “Gilbo’a Prison” were captured. Both terrorists surrendered after being surrounded by security forces that acted precisely based on accurate intelligence.
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) September 19, 2021
In order to prevent a large-scale confrontation with Palestinians, a large number of security forces entered different parts of the city as a distraction. Gunmen in Jenin associated with several militant groups, including Fatah, Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad, had warned that they were prepared to thwart any attempt by the IDF to enter the city or its refugee camp in search of the two security prisoners. They formed a “Joint Operations Room” to repel a possible “invasion” by the IDF.
Palestinian sources claimed that the IDF was preparing to launch a major offensive in the camp following a series of shooting incidents.
“The two terrorists surrendered and came out without opening fire. The arrest was conducted smoothly,” Lt.-Col. Alon Hanoni, deputy commander of the IDF’s Menashe Regional Command, which is responsible for the Jenin area, said after the operation.
Two Palestinians who helped the prisoners were also arrested.
While security forces were leaving the city, clashes with Palestinians erupted in a number of locations where they threw stones and explosives and opened fire toward Israeli forces. Three Palestinians were moderately wounded during the clashes, according to the reports. No injuries were reported among Israeli forces.
Lt. Afek Arad, commander of the Ashchar squadron that took part in the operation, told The Jerusalem Post that his troops were given 30 minutes' notice of the operation. They provided a distraction from the arrests and clashed with Palestinians in other parts of Jenin.
“Just because no troops were hurt or killed doesn’t mean it wasn’t violent,” he said, “and as we were leaving there were gunmen who followed us on motorcycles shooting toward our vehicles and troops. Our forces responded professionally and knew when to be more aggressive and when not to be.”
Arad said that while he wasn’t sure if any of the gunmen belonged to Palestinian Islamic Jihad or other terror groups, “it doesn’t matter to me. I see a terrorist with a gun who wants to kill us and I want to finish our mission without any injuries.”
Arad and his troops had trained for the arrest operation since the six broke out of Gilboa. While they did not know where or when the operation would take place, an arrest in Jenin was one of the options that they trained for.“Wherever they were, I was ready to get them. My unit came ready, and we are still ready to meet our enemies wherever they are.”
The IDF’s 100th Flying Camel squadron as well as crews from Military Intelligence’s 9900th unit assisted in the search for the fugitives. According to the IDF, crews from the 100th Squadron had been flying some 9,900 hours since the eve of the Rosh Hashanah holiday.
“The main function of the joint activity of the 100th Squadron and Unit 9900 in the operation was to be the “eyes from the air” of the ground forces,” the IDF said in a statement, adding that troops “engaged in various missions that contributed to the success of capturing the terrorists, including aerial photography, intelligence gathering, as well as escorting the forces on the ground during the operation to arrest them.”
The 100th Squadron flies Beechcraft Super King Air Model 200 surveillance aircraft; two of the squadron’s planes, equipped with advanced sensors, took part in the arrest operation overnight, with one of them focusing on filming the scene from above while the other dealt with relaying and transmitting intelligence between the brigade command and troops in the field, providing them with the location of the fugitives as well as their attempt to escape via the roof and locating any obstacles along the forces’ routes. The second plane also warned troops of nearby threats.
Unit 9900 is responsible for gathering visual intelligence including geographical data from satellites and aircraft, as well as mapping and interpreting the visual intelligence for troops on the battlefield as well as decision-makers.
Fouad Kahamji, Iham’s father, told al-Quds.com on Saturday night that Iham had called him before the arrest and told him that he was trapped in a house with civilians and that he would surrender himself for their safety.
Four of the six prisoners who escaped from Gilboa Prison, Zakaria Zubeidi, Mahmoud Ardah, Mohammed Qadri and Mohammed Ardah, were captured by security forces in and near Nazareth last weekend.
Prime Minister Naftali Bennett commented: “Over and done. All six terrorists were captured and will return to prison, in an impressive, sophisticated and rapid operation by the Shin Bet, the police and the IDF.”
Bennett thanked security forces for working tirelessly to capture the fugitive prisoners, adding “what went wrong can be repaired.”
The prime minister later thanked Public Security Minister Omer Barlev, Shin Bet head Nadav Argaman, IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Aviv Kohavi, Police Commissioner Kobi Shabtai, head of Central Command Maj.-Gen. Yehuda Fuchs and other senior officials.
“The incident started with a major mishap but you jointly mobilized until the mission was completed, when all six terrorists returned to prison,” Bennett said.
תם ונשלם. כל ששת המחבלים נתפסו ויחזרו לכלא, במבצע מרשים, מתוחכם ומהיר של השב״כ, המשטרה וצה״ל. אני רוצה להודות לכוחות הביטחון שפעלו, לילות כימים, גם בשבת ובחג, כדי להביא את האירוע לידי סיום.את מה שהתקלקל - אפשר לתקן.
— Naftali Bennett בנט (@naftalibennett) September 19, 2021
Speaking at a ceremony to honor those who fell during the Yom Kippur War, Defense Minister Benny Gantz also thanked the security forces for their “accurate and professional execution” of the arrests.
“Last night we saw the importance and intelligence superiority of our forces on the ground during an operation to arrest the terrorists who escaped from Gilboa Prison. I commend all the forces that have worked and continue to work effectively and professionally while maintaining resilience and a ‘fighting spirit’ over the last few weeks.”
“Israel does not want to disrupt the daily routine of millions of Palestinians in Judea and Samaria and strives to continue taking steps that will improve and strengthen their economy, health, and security. In Gaza, too, we strive to enable two million civilians to maintain their routine lives,” Gantz continued, adding that the security of Israeli citizens is paramount.
“If there are terrorist organizations that rear their heads and act at the expense of Palestinian civilians we will work hard to thwart and harm the terrorists and their affiliates,” he said.
After the two fugitives were arrested, Shabtai said that police from the Northern District “have been mobilizing many forces, along with other security organizations, in a broad deployment of thousands of police, border police and volunteers, in an intelligence, investigative and operational hunt. Thanks to exceptional cooperation between all organizations, the police, the Shin Bet and the IDF, we managed to close the circle together.”
Shabtai explained that the security establishment figured out over time that the two escapees were located in Jenin. Security forces prepared several days for the operation that took place on Saturday night after information they had been waiting for was received.
“The entire security establishment and we, the officers of Israel Police, will continue to act resolutely and aggressively for the security of the citizens of Israel,” said Shabtai.
Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassam responded to the arrests on Sunday morning, saying “We salute and pay great homage to the heroes of the Freedom Tunnel in Gilboa Prison, who demonstrated the ability of the Palestinian to resist in all circumstances and with all tools.”
Qassam stressed that despite the recapture of all six escaped prisoners, “this operation will remain as irrefutable evidence of the fragility and weakness of the Zionist security system and its inability to withstand the will of the Palestinian fighter.”
He added that the movement’s military wing, the al-Qassam Brigades, has promised to include the six recaptured fugitives in any future prisoner exchange deal and that freeing Palestinian prisoners will remain a “top priority” for the Palestinian factions.
“The arrests will not erase the mark left by the six escaped prisoners,” said the PIJ in response to the arrests. It warned that the struggle continues.