Israel nabs four of six Palestinian jail breakers

Israel has recaptured four of the six Palestinian militants who escaped from a high-security prison earlier this week in one of the most spectacular breakouts in the country’s history, police said Saturday.

Since Monday’s breakout, the army has poured troops into the occupied West Bank for a massive manhunt.

But the two latest fugitives to be recaptured, who include both a prominent former militant leader and the alleged mastermind of the escape, were found hiding in a lorry park just outside Nazareth in northern Israel, police said.

Zakaria Zubeidi is a former militant leader of the Fatah movement while Mahmoud Ardah was sentenced to life in prison in 2002 for his role in Islamic Jihad’s armed wing.