A young Arab saboteur who escaped from a maximum security prison on Mt. Carmel Sunday night was captured last night when he hitched a ride in a car that happened to be carrying a prison warden. Bassem Hammed, 19, who was serving a ten-year sentence for espionage and sabotage, was the object of a massive manhunt involving hundreds of police, civilian volunteers and helicopters during the 28 hours that he was at large.
The prisoner escaped by scaling a perimeter fence while on garbage disposal detail. His luck held out until he thumbed a ride in a car not knowing that a prison official was one of its passengers, The young man’s ragged condition and bruises on his legs aroused the suspicions of the warden who questioned him, learned his identity and handed him over to police.
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
