The Manhunt Continues

Just by chance, I have been thinking a lot about the Second Intifada lately and the traumatic collective memory it has left on countless Israelis who lived through it, myself included. I chalk this up to having finished one of the last chapters in Ronen Bergmen's Rise and Kill First about the IDF and Shabak's efforts to destroy the Palestinian terror infrastructure during the Second Intifada in the early 2000s. The events since the beginning of this week have demonstrated that even old memories are still never far behind.

The prisoners who escaped from Gilboa Prison in Northern Israel on Monday are still on the run. The connection to the Second Intifada is direct. The incident is hugely embarrassing for Israel's security services, especially considering that there are rumors of complicity among prison staff at Gilboa.

Zakaria Zubeidi in the West Bank in 2004. AP/Nasser Nasser

Among the escapees are Zakaria Zubeidi, the former leader of Fatah's Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades terror group. The remaining six suspects are members of Palestinian Islamic Jihad. All have been convicted of leading and taking part in terror attacks that murdered innocent Israeli women, children, and men. 

Zubeidi was an infamous figure during the Second Intifada, but his name has long faded from the headlines. Until now. If anyone can be considered a folk hero among Palestinians, it is him. It's too early to say how the rest of this incident will unfold and what may happen in the West Bank, Jerusalem, and Gaza over the coming days and weeks. However, one thing is clear, support for popular Palestinian resistance is strong. The PA is being forced to walk a very tight line between standing in solidarity with the escapees and refusing to work with Israel to help capture them. This is at risk of upsetting the Palestinian street, who are strongly behind the escaped fugitives. However, as much as the PA does not want to be seen as collaborating with Israel, any widespread unrest or increase in violence in the West Bank will likely not work to their favor. For the Israeli government, they can only hope to recapture the escapees as soon as possible.