Palestinian security forces on Saturday arrested three Palestinian youths who had been missing since March 30, foiling a planned large-scale terror attack against Israeli targets, according to Palestinian Authority sources.
PA forces had conducted intensive searches for the three since they were reported missing.
The trio were found in an open area north of the West Bank city of Ramallah by a joint force of Palestinian police and the Palestinian Internal Security service, according to Palestinian sources who spoke to The Times of Israel.
They had a large quantity of weapons with them, including several hand grenades and a “Carl Gustav” sub-machine gun, and it is believed they were planning an attack, the sources said.
Illustrative: Palestinian police take part in a training session of the Palestinian special police force in the West Bank city of Ramallah in 2014. (Issam Rimawi/Flash90)
The three were taken for interrogation. According to the Palestinian sources, they are believed to be members of terror group Hamas.
Concerns regarding the three grew on Thursday after the cellphones and ID cards of two of the youths were found near Ramallah, according to Bethlehem Radio.
Palestinian police notified the families of Basel Mahmoud Ala’raj of al-Walaja, near Jerusalem, Mohammed Abdullah Harb of Jenin, and Haytham Sayaj, of Hebron, of the find.
The families said that they had no word about the whereabouts of the three.
