The 2 men arrested, residents of Jaljulia & Tamra, confessed to helping 2 relatives escape to Syria. One of the men was serving a 25-year murder sentence.
Two men from the Israeli Arab towns of Jaljulia and Tamra were arrested by the Israel Defense Forces on Monday evening near the border fence with Syria on the Golan Heights in northern Israel, Army Radio reported on Tuesday.
Out of the frying pan and into the fire? The suspects allegedly helped a prisoner cross the border into Syria. – Photo: Reuters
Security forces who spotted suspicious activity along the border fence near Kibbutz El-Rom were initially concerned that armed men were attempting to cross into Israel from Syria. They also suspected that a drug deal might have taken place, because a third man was seen on the Syrian side of the fence moving away from the border.
The two men were arrested and questioned, and confessed that they had helped two family members flee Israel into Syria. The suspects said that one of the escapees, Muhammad Yassin, had been convicted of murder in 2006 and was serving a 25-year sentence in an Israeli prison.
According to Army Radio, Yassin exploited a prison furlough to flee the country along with another man suspected of involvement in the same murder.
An Israel Police spokesperson told Israel Radio that Yassin had indeed been released from prison on Monday morning for a furlough, and had not returned as planned.
The investigation is continuing, Army Radio reported.
View original Israel Hayom publication at: http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_article.php?id=7289
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