Israel Defense Forces soldiers arrested four members of the Fatah-aligned Tanzim movement in the West Bank city of Nablus early Sunday, in a raid that also yielded the discovery of two explosive belts.

The army said the operation had thwarted a suicide bombing planned in the coming days, and that the arrests included two masterminds of the attack. The would-be bomber, a 16-year-old boy, had been arrested previously, army officials said.

According to a statement issued by the IDF Spokesman's Office, following their arrest, the two masterminds, Yusef Yusef Abed Al Khader Sahli, 21, and Darwish Nimer Darwish Shafi, 24, gave security forces the location of two explosive belts, which were hidden in their apartment.

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The statement said the arrest prevented a deadly suicide bombing within Israel which was planned for execution in the coming days.

Two other men arrested in the operation are Haled Halal Muhammad Abu Hammad, 20, and Mahmud Salah Mahmud Maher, 23, both involved in Shafi and Salah's terror activity.

According to the statement, Shafi and Salah's intents were revealed due to a number of arrests conducted recently. Samah Tsufan, arrested in December 2006, told questioners that Yusef Sahli had asked him to recruit a suicide bomber.

Tsufan recruited 16 year-old Samer Janajra, and when Janajra was brought in for questioning, he told interrogators that he had spoken with Sahli and Shafi and had agreed to their request to carry out the bombing. Janajra was meant to infiltrate Israel via the city of Tulkarm.

Other operatives arrested recently revealed that Salah and Shafi were actively attempting to procure explosive belts, the statement said.

Palestinian security officials said that the troops surrounded a building in the city and detained at least four people.

Residents said that sbout 20 IDF jeeps drove into Nablus before dawn, and the sound of explosions and gunfire could be heard across the city for several hours.

The Nablus raid comes three days after a similar operation in the West Bank city of Ramallah, in which four Palestinians were killed and more than two dozen wounded.

Despite the difficulties in the Ramallah raid, IDF officials said they plan to intensify arrest operations in the West Bank. The officials said the arrests are necessary because of a decision to ease travel restrictions, allowing militants to move about more freely. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to speak to the media.

On Saturday, IDF troops shot and wounded two Palestinians as they were walking next to the security fence in the northern Gaza Strip.

IDF sources said that soldiers noticed a group of some ten men walking close to the fence and opened fire on their lower bodies when they ignored calls to stop. Two of the group were wounded, the sources said.