IDF arrests two Palestinians in pipe bomb attack on Jewish shrine in West Bank

Israeli forces on Thursday arrested two Palestinians suspected of throwing a pipe bomb at a Jewish shrine in the West Bank the previous night, authorities said.

The explosive device was hurled from the Palestinian side of the security barrier at Rachel's Tomb on the outskirts of Bethlehem, Border Police said in a statement.

Forces at the site called in a sapper, who determined the object was indeed a pipe bomb and defused it.

IDF and Border Police forces subsequently launched widespread searches in the nearby al-Ayda refugee camp. Two 25-year-old suspects were arrested, one of them carrying a knife. Police said one of the men is suspected of belonging to the Hamas terror group.

Forces later raided the home of one of the suspects and seized equipment used to produce the homemade explosive devices.

In a separate incident, a Palestinian man hurled a firebomb at Israeli troops operating in the West Bank city of Qalqilya early Thursday morning, causing no injuries.

The incident occurred during IDF activity in the Palestinian town. Soldiers shot and wounded the assailant, the military said in a statement.

A search of his person revealed an explosive device and more firebombs, it added. He was given medical treatment for his injuries.

Additionally, security forces arrested 13 terror suspects throughout the West Bank during the night and took them in for questioning, according to the military.

Soldiers also found and seized a homemade firearm during a raid in the village of Rabud in the southern West Bank.