Construction begins at Gilboa Prison to fix design flaws that led to jailbreak

Renovation work has begun at the Gilboa Prison to fix the design flaws exploited by six Palestinian security prisoners who tunneled under the complex in a daring escape last year.

A joint statement by the Defense Ministry and Israel Prison Service says that after weeks of planning and assessments, work has begun to fill the spaces underneath the jail which had been exploited by the prisoners involved in the jailbreak.

“A convoy of tankers arrived at the prison, pouring about 1,200 cubic meters of filler into the various vulnerabilities which were located in the prison building and infrastructure,” the statement reads. “This is to prevent the possibility of future escape attempts.”

The daring escape in September, which ended with the capture of the last two inmates some two weeks later, has been seen as a major failure by Israel’s prison service, which was blamed for both allowing inmates to tunnel out through their cell’s drainage system and an empty space underneath the prison, and failing to notice or alert authorities in time.

They had reportedly begun digging months before the prison break, using plates, panhandles, building debris, and part of a metal hanger.