Israel Defense Forces soldiers arrested two Palestinian teenagers at the Jalameh roadblock in the West Bank city of Jenin on Wednesday morning, after they were found to be in possession of explosives and weapons, Israel Radio reported.

According to the report, the two - aged 15 and 16 years - told interrogators that they had been acting as couriers for terrorists.

The radio said that the two have apparently entered northern Israel from the Jenin area on several previous occasions, each time carrying several packages.

One of the teens, Hammam Daraghmeh, said he was a member of the Islamic Jihad militant group and is ready to die. "I wanted to destroy Israel," he said.

His partner, Mohammed Nasser Daraghmeh, said he had been recruited by another militant group, the Fatah-linked Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades, and asked to carry a bag with a bomb to the checkpoint. The teens said they are distant relatives.

In recent years, militant groups have increasingly turned to teenagers and women to help carry out attacks, believing that they are less likely to draw attention from IDF troops...