Israel arrests 4 Palestinian fugitives who escaped prison

Israeli police say they have arrested four of the six Palestinians who broke out of a maximum-security prison this week — including a famed militant leader whose exploits over the years have made him a well-known figure in Israel

JERUSALEM -- Israeli police on Saturday said they have arrested four of the six Palestinians who broke out of a maximum-security prison this week — including a famed militant leader whose exploits over the years have made him a well-known figure in Israel. The arrests moved Israel closer to closing an embarrassing episode that exposed deep flaws in its prison system and turned the fugitive prisoners into Palestinian heroes. Late on Friday, Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip fired a rocket into Israel in an apparent sign of solidarity, drawing Israeli airstrikes in reprisal. The four wanted men were caught in a pair of arrests in northern Israel. Early on Saturday, police said they had caught two men, including Zakaria Zubeidi, in the Arab town of Umm al-Ghanam. Zubeidi was a militant leader during the second Palestinian uprising in the early 2000s.