Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails set cells ablaze

Tension mounted in Israeli prisons on Wednesday as Palestinian inmates set fire to cells while Israeli forces continue the searches for six Palestinian escapees who tunneled their way out on Monday, reported Xinhua.

Fires broke out in several jails to protest attempts to relocate prisoners to other facilities, Palestinian and Israeli sources said. The relocations were part of measures taken by the Israeli Prison Service following the rare escape.

The service said in a statement that fires broke out in several wings of the Ramon Prison and the Ktzi'ot Prison, both penitentiary facilities located in southern Israel. "The fires are under control," a spokesperson with the Prison Service said.

The prisoners, affiliated with the Palestinian Islamic Jihad group, set the blazes to protest "the brutal crackdown on Palestinian prisoners," according to a statement issued by the Palestinian Prisoners Club, a prisoner rights group.

In a separate statement, the Islamic Jihad called prisoners in Israeli jails to resist attempts to transfer them to new facilities.

The ruling Fatah movement said that the conditions in Israeli prisons constitute "a war crime that requires urgent intervention by the international community to protect and liberate the prisoners."

Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett held an assessment of the situation with the country's top security officials, according to a statement issued by his office.

Bennett emphasized that the recent tensions might spark wider escalation with the Palestinians and added that "Israel is prepared for any scenario."

Six Palestinian prisoners escaped from the high-security Gilboa Penitentiary in northern Israel on Monday, prompting a massive manhunt by Israeli security forces that has focused on northern Israel and the occupied West Bank.

The six apparently tunneled their way out, according to the Israeli police.