Fires flare in Israeli prisons amid manhunt for 6 escapees

By LAURIE KELLMAN and JACK JEFFERY
Associated Press

RAMALLAH, West Bank (AP) — Pressure is building around Israel’s prison system after fires broke out at several facilities and the government searched for six Palestinian escapees who have been on the run since they tunneled out two days earlier. Fires were reported at several prisons Wednesday amid efforts to try to move inmates as a precautionary measure. An umbrella group representing prisoners from all Palestinian factions called on prisoners to resist being relocated. The Israel Prison Service said through a spokesperson that a fire broke out in Ramon Prison. The Palestinian prisoners group reported fires in Ketziot Prison. The six men who escaped from Gilboa prison on Monday apparently did so through a tunnel.