GAZA, 11 September 2021, (TON): Palestinians across the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem are gathering for a day of rage on Friday in support of the six Palestinian prisoners, who escaped from an Israeli prison, heeding the call of Hamas and other Palestinian resistance groups.

They are also protesting against the punitive measures that the Israeli jail authorities have imposed on imprisoned members of the Islamic Jihad, another group active in the Gaza Strip, in the wake of a brazen escape from one of the country’s most secure prisons.

Several relatives of the escaped prisoners have been arrested, including three people on Friday morning, as part of an Israeli manhunt to capture them.

The six men tunnelled out of the high-security Gilboa jail on Monday, triggering celebration and solidarity protests in the Palestinian territories. Israeli forces were on their second-highest level of alert on Friday, below declaring a state of emergency, prepared for protests in the occupied Palestinian territories and possible riots within Israeli jails.

More than 100 Palestinian protesters moved towards the valley below the illegal Israeli settlement of Evyatar which is constructed on agricultural land expropriated from the villagers. On the hill above, groups of Israeli soldiers monitored youths who burned tyres and threw stones. Periodically, drones flew over the young men, dropping tear gas on them, while others buzzed close above taking pictures.