The Shin Bet foiled a terror plot last month to use a powerful bomb against Israel Defense Forces soldiers in the West Bank, the security service said in a statement Tuesday.

Information about the explosive, a mine that weighed 100 kilograms, was obtained during the interrogation of two suspects who were arrested amid a sweep to catch terror operatives. It was seized in the town of Qabatiya.

During a joint IDF, Shin Bet, and Border Police operation, forces had arrested a number of terror cells in Qabatiya and Jenin that were planning to carry out significant terror attacks in the area, the statement said.

On January 11, Shin Bet agents arrested Ahmad Ali Zacharana and Tariq Abu Aid, both from Nablus, as they were driving to carry out a terror attack. The pair had with them two M-16 rifles.

Under questioning, they revealed they were planning a shooting attack in the town of Huwara and had been provided by terror commanders in Jenin with a 100-kilogram bomb to use against IDF troops in the West Bank.

On Monday, during a joint Shin Bet and IDF operation in Qabatiya, security forces arrested additional members of the cell. Weapons were seized and the 100-kilogram mine.

The investigation is continuing, the Shin Bet said.

The announcement of the thwarted attack came after three empty buses exploded in quick succession in parking lots in the Tel Aviv suburbs of Bat Yam and Holon last Thursday night and the discovery of two more unexploded devices on additional buses in Holon. No casualties were reported as a result of the explosions.

According to officials, the botched attack originated from the West Bank.

An ongoing major offensive in the northern West Bank, dubbed Operation Iron Wall, was launched on January 21.

The IDF’s crackdown on terror groups began days after a ceasefire agreement was reached in the Gaza Strip, and following recent activity against the groups by the Ramallah-based Palestinian Authority.

The operation began in the terror hotbed of Jenin, which has seen dozens of raids since the Hamas October 7, 2023, invasion of southern Israel from Gaza, which sparked the ongoing war in that territory, as well as a renewed effort to combat terror groups in the West Bank. Israeli forces have since pushed into several other nearby towns, including Tulkarem.

Troops have killed more than 70 Palestinian terror operatives and detained some 300 amid the major ongoing counterterrorism operation, according to the IDF.

The IDF has acknowledged mistakenly killing several civilians during the operation, including a toddler and a pregnant woman.