SOMETIMES NOTHIN' IS A REAL COOL HAND:

The escape bolted public opinion in a way not seen for years. Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh told journalists that every prisoner wishes to be free and that Israel should free all prisoners. When Al Jazeera reporter Guevara Budeiri was asked about security coordination, she said that there was no coordination at all with the Israelis. The combination of Fatah and Islamic Jihad -- a collaboration that used to be strong -- has reignited ideas of combined acts of resistance.

After initially holding off on arresting relatives of the escapees in the hope that they can listen in on conversations with the prisoners, Israel arrested parents and brothers of the detainees. A number of family members whose relatives are in jail told Al-Monitor that the imprisoned relatives are likely to be held for information gathering, pressure on the escapees and might be used possibly as human shields if a battle with armed prisoners takes place.

The situation in Israeli prisons has been volatile since the jailbreak, with guards appearing to take revenge on those under their control, and in return the prisoners have protested. In one prison in the Negev Desert prisoners burnt the contents of their own cells in an act of protest to the Israeli guards' harsh treatment.

Scores of Palestinians in the West Bank were injured on Thursday when Israeli soldiers attacked protesters demonstrating in solidarity with the Palestinian prisoners who escaped from Israel's Gilboa Prison. 

More than 100 Palestinians were injured after Israeli soldiers fired tear gas, live ammunition and rubber bullets at crowds who were waving Palestinian flags and chanting "freedom", the Palestine Red Crescent said.

The attacks on protesters reportedly took place in the Arroub refugee camp, north of Hebron; the town of Dura, south of Hebron; and in al-Khader town, south of Bethlehem, according to local sources. 

"We came out in solidarity with our prisoners in the occupier's jails," Jihad Abu Adi, a protester, was quoted by Reuters as saying. "It's the least we could do for our heroic prisoners."

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