Five 15-year-old Palestinians from the West Bank village of Sa'ir were arrested overnight Wednesday on suspicion of forming a terror cell called the Sa'ir Brigades and attacking Israeli vehicles and communities, Israel Police said on Wednesday.
According to police, the group organized as an illegal military force whose members threw Molotov cocktails and stones at Israeli vehicles, roads, and settlement locations in the area.
Police also suspect the teenagers of setting fire to wooded areas near populated communities with the intention of causing the flames to spread toward them. Additional suspicions include incitement to violence and tearing down Israeli flags along roads.
The investigation began after intelligence was recently gathered about youths from the village. Officers from the Judea and Samaria District’s Hetz Yehuda unit raided Sa'ir overnight alongside the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency), with support from soldiers of the Etzion Brigade.
The Hetz unit took the five teenagers to the Hebron police station for questioning. Police are expected to request an extension of their detention.
Security forces seized Egyptian-made pistol, tens of thousands of shekels
In a separate operation Wednesday morning, detectives and officers from the unit raided a home in the village of Beit Ula. During the search, they seized an Egyptian-made Star pistol, a Glock pistol, dozens of 9 mm rounds, fireworks batteries, and tens of thousands of shekels in cash.
A local resident in his 60s was arrested and taken for questioning.
That morning, officers also arrested a Palestinian suspected of attempting to run over police while fleeing in a stolen vehicle the previous weekend.
According to police, the vehicle was stolen in the Kiryat Malachi area before breaking through several roadblocks near Gush Etzion Junction, ramming police vehicles, driving over spike strips, and attempting to run over officers trying to stop it.
The driver escaped from the vehicle on foot toward a nearby Palestinian village.
Hetz officers arrested him Wednesday morning at the Lachish crossing in Tarqumiya. They took him to the Etzion police station for questioning, and he will appear in court for a hearing on extending his detention.