Police find possible terror tunnel running from West Bank toward Jerusalem, arrest 2

DNA from scene leads to arrest of 1 Palestinian, 1 East Jerusalem man; no weapons found but police probing whether plan was to use tunnel for terror attack or to smuggle in workers

Israel Police arrested a Palestinian man and an East Jerusalem resident on Wednesday after discovered a tunnel near the A’zaim checkpoint in the West Bank, east of Jerusalem, amid fears it could be used for a terror attack or for smuggling Palestinians into Israel.

Officers were called to the scene by officials from the Defense Ministry’s Civil Administration unit and found the underground passage, built from the West Bank toward Israel at a depth of 25 meters, police said in a statement.

Cops said they found digging equipment, water bottles, gloves, face masks and other equipment, adding that forensic examination yielded DNA samples that led to the arrests of the two individuals.

One suspect is a Palestinian from al-Azariya and the second is an East Jerusalem resident. Both are in their 30s.

They were taken for questioning on suspicion of digging the tunnel recently, with the goal of using it to smuggle illegal Palestinian workers into Israel or to commit terror attacks, police said. There were no weapons found at the site.

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Underground tunnels have long been a strategic tool used by terror groups in Gaza and Lebanon, but few have been discovered to date in the West Bank.

Israeli police officers uncover a tunnel near the A’zaim checkpoint in the West Bank, east of Jerusalem on June 24, 2026. (Israel Police)

In September 2024, the IDF located a short underground tunnel near a hospital in the West Bank city of Tulkarem amid a counter-terrorism operation.

The tunnel had an entrance but no exit, in an indication that it was still under construction.

נחשפה מנהרה סמוך למעבר א-זעים – שוטרי מחוז ש"י עצרו שני חשודים בחפירתה ובביצוע פעולות טרור

בעקבות דיווח מהמנהל האזרחי על זיהוי מנהרה באזור מעבר א-זעים, הוזעקו שוטרי מחוז ש"י ולוחמי מג"ב עוטף ירושלים למקום. הכוחות איתרו את המנהרה שנחפרה משטחי יו"ש לכיוון שטחי ישראל בעומק של כ-25… pic.twitter.com/cBkje3dmTS

— משטרת ישראל (@IL_police) June 24, 2026

In December 2023, residents of the town of Bat Hefer, situated hundreds of meters from the West Bank city of Tulkarem, reported hearing digging sounds under their homes.

Several sets of tests searching for possible tunnels from the West Bank found nothing, though.

There is a security barrier separating Bat Hefer from Tulkarem, but the local council said that, in light of the complaints of digging noises, additional security measures were taken.

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