A 16-year-old Palestinian boy in police custody admitted to planning to attack an IDF soldier when he was initially arrested on Saturday night, police announced on Tuesday.
The suspect is from Nahaleen, a Palestinian village surrounded by Jewish settlements in the Gush Etzion bloc of the West Bank.
Police arrested the teen after receiving a report of an attempted terrorist infiltration into the Gush Etzion settlement of Neve Daniel. When Israeli security forces arrived, the boy said he was thirsty and looking for water to drink.
After 24 hours of interrogation by investigators and intelligence officials, the suspect admitted that he was hoping to come across an IDF soldier and attack them. He then intended to take his own life, he told police, thus dying a martyr.
During the investigation, the boy showed investigators the route he took from his home to the settlement of Neve Daniel, and pointed out where he had hidden his weapon. The knife, found under a bench, was a kitchen knife taken from the boy's home.
Police are expected to request an extension of the 16-year-old's detention in order to complete the investigation.
Also on Tuesday, officers from the Israel Police Judea Arrow unit arrested a 34-year-old Palestinian suspect on Highway 60 after receiving a report that he had stated his intention to carry out an attack on civilians.
The suspect, a resident of Bani Naim near Hebron, was taken in for questioning following his arrest.
Israel Police arrest five in Yavne kidnapping, victim found unharmed
Police on Tuesday arrested five people for allegedly kidnapping a man in the city of Yavne.
Police received a tip regarding a suspected kidnapping in Yavne and immediately began an "accelerated investigation," according to the spokesperson.
After conducting extensive searches and "rapid investigative actions," police located the victim with his brother, unharmed. Five suspects, all residents of Yavne, were subsequently arrested on suspicion of being involved in the kidnapping.
The investigation into the incident is ongoing, police said, adding that it appeared to be a criminal matter rather than a terrorist attack.