Despite estimates in Israel that some of the six security prisoners crossed the border into Jordan through an unfenced section of the border shortly after escaping from Gilboa Prison, none of them crossed the border or is currently in the country's sovereign territory.
This is what senior officials in the Jordanian intelligence establishment and security apparatus claimed tonight (Thursday).
A senior source in Jordan's defense establishment told Israel Today that if the prisoners or some of them did cross the border into the kingdom, the authorities will act as required by law in Jordan with regard to wanted persons, who are being hunted down.
He added that it is not impossible that they will be extradited to Israel even though there is no official and permanent extradition agreement between the countries.
"At the moment we have no indications that the prisoners who escaped or some of them did cross the border and are in the sovereign territory of the kingdom," a senior source in the Jordanian security forces told Israel Today.
The source added that Israel had asked the Jordanian authorities for help in locating the prisoners, if the six fugitives or some of them managed to cross the border.
Pictures of the six escaped prisoners published by the IPS,
"Despite the sensitivity since these are Palestinians who are our brothers in every way, Jordan will not be a city of refuge for prisoners who escaped from prison and it does not matter who they are or under what circumstances they escaped from prison," the source said. "He will be brought before the court that will rule on his case. If the court decides to extradite them to Israel or a third country - so be it."
The Jordanian official stressed that in light of the good relations between Amman and Jerusalem since the change of government in Israel and the fact that relations between the two countries have taken a positive path, the Jordanian authorities are working harder to find out if the six prisoners or some of them are in the kingdom.
"The Jordanian legal system treats such acts severely and if the escaped prisoners managed to cross the border into Jordan and allegedly receive assistance from local residents, those aides are aware of the seriousness of the acts so we are sure they are not in Jordan and certainly not receiving assistance from Jordanian citizens," the source said.
Another senior official in the Jordanian intelligence establishment told Israel Today that the assessments among the authorities in the Hashemite Kingdom that the prisoners did not cross the border into the kingdom are mainly based on investigative actions carried out by the Jordanians on the intelligence level.
"If all six prisoners or some of them had crossed the border and stayed in Jordan, the information about it would have come one way or another. Either way, they would have been caught in the end. From the investigative actions we have carried out so far we have not received any information or directions. "We can confirm the suspicion that all six of the prisoners or some of them fled to the sovereign territory of the Kingdom of Jordan," the source clarified.
