Palestinian security forces arrested three young Palestinians in the Jenin refugee camp, including the son of Zakaria Zubeidi, one of the terrorists who escaped from Gilboa prison, Hebrew media reported early Saturday morning.
The three Palestinians reportedly resisted arrest, so police had to detain them by force. The reason for their arrest is still unclear.
Reacting to documentation of the arrest, gunmen took to the streets of the refugee camp in protest, with some opening fire. Palestinian Authority officials from Ramallah have been working with field activists in the refugee camp to calm the area, according to Haaretz.
Zubeidi was the former Jenin chief of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades, Fatah’s armed wing, and later made recent headlines after escaping from the prison in September along with five other terrorists by digging a tunnel. All of the inmates were eventually recaptured.
He is reportedly a “symbol” of the Second Intifada, which erupted in September 2000, and was even praised by Palestinian Islamic Jihad, Hamas and Fatah upon his escape from Gilboa prison.
Had the escapee returned to his home in the Jenin refugee camp, Israel would never have been able to recapture him, masked gunmen and political activists said in September.
Zubeidi was reportedly in close contact with several Israelis, including journalists covering Palestinian affairs, and briefed them on the latest developments in Jenin.
According to both Palestinian and Israeli sources, Zubeidi had survived at least four assassination attempts by Israel. He and his men were known to terrorize and intimidate Palestinians in the Jenin area.
In February 2019, he was arrested by the IDF and charged with carrying out at least two shooting attacks on civilian buses in the West Bank.
Another incident in Jenin last month involved the death of a 21-year-old nursing student at Arab American University, which sparked protests in which demonstrators clashed with PA security forces.
Khaled Abu Toameh contributed to this report.