Israel holding Gilboa jailbreakers in solitary confinement, lawyer says

Six Palestinian men who broke out of a high-security Israeli prison earlier this month are now being held in solitary confinement, a lawyer for one of the detainees has said.

The six detainees "were all transferred to isolation departments in different prisons", Khaled Mahajna, lawyer for prisoner Mohammed Ardah said.

The six men broke out of the Gilboa Prison in northern Israel on 6 September, using tools such as a rusty spoon to tunnel their way to freedom. All six were eventually recaptured by the Israeli forces.

Five of the men reportedly belong to the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), an Iran-backed armed group.

Israeli forces have cracked down on detainees part of the PIJ, Palestinian prisoner rights groups have said.

Israeli media reported earlier this week that five detainees at Gilboa were to be officially accused of assisting the jailbreakers.

Hazem Qassem, spokesman for Palestinian militant group Hamas, said Israel's use of solitary confinement on the prisoners is an act of "revenge".

He told Arabi21 that "this retaliatory behaviour displays the extent of the insult this operation posed to... the entire Israeli system".