A number of Israel Defence Force soldiers were arrested on Monday on suspicion that they hurled an explosive device at a Palestinian home near Bethlehem on Sunday night, the army said in a statement.
There were no reports of injuries or damage, but Israeli media reports that three soldiers from the Druze community were arrested, raising suspicions that the attempted attack was revenge for the kidnapping of a Druze teenager by Palestinian gunmen last week.
In a short statement on Monday, the IDF said: "This morning (Monday), a number of IDF soldiers were apprehended on suspicion of hurling an explosive device at a residence in a Palestinian town in the area of Bethlehem.
"An investigation has been launched into the matter."
The military gave no further detail, but Hebrew media reports that the three soldiers arrested serve at the headquarters of a tank unit currently deployed in the Bethlehem area, near where the home that was targeted is located.
According to the Kan public broadcaster, a Palestinian resident in the area noticed the soldiers carrying out the alleged attack and reported them to the IDF.
They were later arrested by military police.
Druze teenager Tiran Fero whose body was snatched from a Jenin hospital by Palestinian gunmen (Photo via Twitter)
It is suspected that the alleged attack was in retaliation for the snatching of the body of Druze teenager Tiran Fero, whose body was taken by Palestinian gunmen from a West Bank hospital following a car crash last week.
After being critically injured in a crash in Jenin, he was taken to a nearby hospital where he later died. His body was returned on Thursday, around 30 hours after it was taken.
The body-snatching provoked fury in the Druze community, and before Fero's body was returned, thousands came out to demonstrate in the teen's hometown of Daliyat al-Karmel, blocking a major highway.
However, the Druze community's spiritual leader in Israel, Sheikh Muafak Tarif, strongly condemned the alleged actions of the three IDF soldiers. He told Ynet: “I condemn any act of violence of any kind. There is no justification or legitimacy — not even a hint of it — for any illegal act against a person or property.
"This is not the way and spirit of IDF soldiers in general, and of Druze soldiers in particular.”
He also called for a thorough investigation into the incident: "I have full confidence in the investigation officials and the commanders of the IDF."
