Archbishop Atallah Hanna, Greek Orthodox Archbishop of Sebastia

Archbishop Atallah Hanna, Greek Orthodox Archbishop of Sebastia, paid a tribute to the six heroes of Operation Freedom Tunnel, on the first anniversary of the operation.

Hanna stressed that the message that the six prisoners want to convey is that "the land is ours and will remain ours no matter how hard they try to liquidate the Palestinian cause, and Palestine will remain for its people," adding that "there is an occupation that seeks to undermine the morale of all the Palestinian people, but neither the occupation nor its supporters are capable of that."

It has been one year since six #Palestinian prisoners carried out a heroic operation whereby they broke out of the Israeli #Gilboa prison through a tunnel they dug underground to the outside.#Palestine #FreedomTunnelOperation pic.twitter.com/0MOacJNqKr
— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) September 6, 2022

Addressing the six Palestinian prisoners, Hanna said: "the day of freedom is coming, no matter how much they conspired against us," adding that "You are the heroes of freedom that you deserve."

The Archbishop considered that the Palestinian people record heroic stances and assure the world that there is no concession with the Israeli occupation, adding the prisoner's message is that surrender is unacceptable.

The Archbishop pointed out that the heroic Al-Quds residents stand up to the Israeli occupation with their bare chests, stressing that "the Palestinian cause is the noblest cause throughout history, and our people will achieve their freedom sooner or later."

Israelis were baffled, to say the least, as they looked at the tunnel dug underneath them in one of the most heroic prison breaks that shook Israeli security complex to its core.
Here's the Israeli shock after the #FreedomTunnelOperation.#Palestine pic.twitter.com/jZ3rhKuLFv
— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) September 6, 2022

Hanna underlined that it is the duty of Arabs and the free people of the world to defend Al-Aqsa Mosque, noting that the new generations today are the ones defending Palestine and presenting themselves as martyrs.

"We will remain a thorn in the throats of the occupation, no matter how they try to liquidate our just cause," he concluded.

Today marks the first anniversary of Operation Freedom Tunnel, during which six Palestinian prisoners broke out of the high-security Israeli Gilboa prison through a tunnel they dug, which led them outside the prison walls before they were arrested.

The Freedom Tunnel prisoners are Mahmoud Al-Aridah, Zakaria Al-Zubaidi, Yaqoub Qadri, Mohammad Al-Aridah, Ayham Kamamji, and Munadel Nafi'at.

Mahmoud Al-Aridah and Yaqoub Qadri were re-arrested four days later, on September 10, 2021 in Al-Nasra. Zakaria Al-Zubaidi and Mohammad Al-Aridah were re-arrested the next day, and Ayham Kamamji and Mundadel Nafi'at on Sunday the 19th, after the house they had barricaded themselves in, east of Jenin, was surrounded.