5 Palestinians arrested for shooting at IDF troops

Israeli security forces arrested five Palestinians for a shooting attack against IDF troops in the West Bank last week, the army said in a statement Wednesday.

The five suspects — all residents of the village of Ni’lin near Ramallah — were arrested in the days following the attack. All five admitted to purchasing weapons from a local arms dealer and carrying out the attack, the army said.

The five approached the security fence near Ni’lin last Tuesday, and opened fire on IDF troops before fleeing the scene. No soldiers were injured in the incident.

IDF arrest raids in the West Bank have stepped up slightly, as military officials attempt to head off what they fear may be an uptick in violence during the fall holiday season, when tensions have been known to rise.

Over the past few months, the IDF, Shin Bet and police have been cracking down on illegal arms manufacturing and weapons smuggling in the West Bank and Israel.

Israel in the past year saw a wave of so-called “lone-wolf” Palestinian terror attacks, which have claimed the lives of 35 Israelis and four foreign nationals since October 2015. Some 227 Palestinians have also been killed in the past year, with the Israeli army and police saying that most of those killed were attackers or involved in clashes with security forces.