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Palestinian detained over IED attack on Rachel’s Tomb

Border Police officers arrested the suspect, 17, during an operation near Bethlehem.

Rachel's Tomb, near the city of Bethlehem, on Nov. 12, 2024. Photo by Chaim Goldberg/Flash90.
Rachel’s Tomb, near the city of Bethlehem, on Nov. 12, 2024. Photo by Chaim Goldberg/Flash90.

Israeli security forces arrested a Palestinian suspect in connection with the throwing of improvised explosives toward the Rachel’s Tomb compound near Jerusalem, Israel Police said on Tuesday.

According to a police statement, Border Police officers arrested the 17-year-old suspect during an operation in the Aida camp outside Bethlehem.

Police said last week’s attack targeted the religious compound in Judea, believed to be the burial place of the biblical matriarch Rachel, and posed a “real danger” to worshippers there.

The suspect, a resident of Aida, was transferred to the Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) for further questioning, it added.

Palestinian terrorists targeted Israeli Jews in Judea and Samaria at least 5,051 times in 2025, according to figures published by the Rescuers Without Borders (Hatzalah Judea and Samaria) NGO.

Twenty-four Israelis were murdered in Judea and Samaria in 2025, and more than 400 others were wounded, per the group’s annual report.

The findings, which were cross-checked against official data from Israeli security agencies, included 3,299 instances of rock-throwing, 458 firebomb attacks, 655 attempts to blind drivers with laser pointers, 286 attacks involving explosives and 19 shootings.

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