Gilboa Prison. What went wrong?(photo credit: FLASH90)BySTEVE LINDE
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GILBOA JAILBREAK
Israel launched a massive manhunt on September 6 for six Palestinian high-security prisoners who escaped early that morning from the Gilboa Prison via a tunnel under their cell. The six, five members of Islamic Jihad and Zakaria Zubeidi, a Fatah leader once considered the symbol of the Second Intifada, were all serving lengthy terms for terrorist attacks against Israelis. Four of the fugitives, including Zubeidi, were recaptured in northern Israel a few days later by the Israel Police Counterterrorism Unit, aided by Beduin trackers. Public Security Minister Omer Bar Lev announced a government commission of inquiry into the escape., saying, “We will leave no stone unturned.”
JORDAN MEETING
President Isaac Herzog traveled secretly to Jordan for a meeting with Jordan’s King Abdullah 2, he announced on September 4. “In the warm meeting, held at the King’s invitation, President Herzog and King Abdullah discussed deep strategic issues, at both the bilateral and regional levels,” a statement from his office said. “In our meeting, among the things we discussed were the core issues in the dialogue between our states. There is a sense in the region of a desire to make progress, a desire to speak.”
SHABAK CHIEF R.
The current deputy director of the Shin Bet (also known as the Shabak or Israel Security Agency), will take over as director from Nadav Argaman on October 13, Prime Minister Naftali Bennett announced. For security reasons, his name cannot be published, but it is permitted to say that R. is 55, married with three children, served in the IDF’s General Staff Reconnaissance Unit and was appointed head of the Shin Bet’s operations in 2011 before being promoted to the agency’s No. 3 and No. 2 positions in 2016 and 2018. Argaman headed the agency for five years.Read More
PORT OPENS
The 5.5 billion-shekel ($1.7 billion) Bay Port at Haifa was inaugurated in a modest ceremony on September 1, boosting Israel’s standing as a regional trade hub. The new port, operated by China’s Shanghai International Port Group, allows larger classes of cargo ships carrying more than18,000 containers to dock in Israel. “I’m sure we can leverage this opportunity not just for local prosperity, but for realizing opportunities and making a real contribution to our neighbors in the Middle East,” Transportation Minister Merav Michaeli said. The US, which docks vessels in Haifa, has voiced anger about a Chinese firm operating a major port in Israel.
AFGHAN JEW
Afghanistan’s last remaining Jew, Zabulon Simantov, 62, left Kabul for a neighboring country in early September following the Taliban takeover and was reportedly on his way to the United States, KAN News reported. Simantov had initially said he would stay in Afghanistan, but apparently changed his mind after the ISIS suicide bombing at the airport in Kabul on August 26, in which 182 people were killed, 13 of them members of the US military. The Taliban completed its conquest of the country on August 15, as the United States made a hasty withdrawal from Kabul.
PARALYMPICS MEDALS
Israeli swimmers Iyad Shalabi and Ami Dadaon won gold medals at the Paralympics on September 2, earning Israel a total of nine medals – six gold, two silvers and a bronze. Shalabi made history by becoming the first Arab Israeli to win a medal at the Paralympics: he won his first gold in the 200-meter freestyle, and a second in the 50-meter backstroke. Israel’s two other swimming golds were won by Mark Malyar. The Israeli delegation included 33 athletes – 18 women and 15 men – competing in 11 different sports. Barel Hadaria Shmueli (credit: Israel Cartoon Project)
