An Israel Defense Forces soldier was lightly wounded Sunday night when a bomb exploded next to a military jeep in the Balata refugee camp, in the West Bank city of Nablus.

The soldier was wounded by shrapnel pieces and was evacuated to Beilinson Hospital in Petah Tikvah for treatment. A few shooting incidents occurred near the scene of the explosion, but no other injuries were caused.

In a separate incident earlier Sunday, IDF troops arrested two Palestinian youths near the West Bank city of Nablus in possession of explosive devices apparently intended to be used in suicide bombing.

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The two were caught by soldiers in the IDF's Haruv ("Carob") Brigade at the Beit Iba checkpoint. Soldiers found on the suspects a bag carrying the bomb, which weighed some 7 kilograms, a gas balloon and spraying material. The bag was detonated safely by IDF sappers.

The youths were detained for questioning by the Shin Bet security service. At this point, it is not yet clear where the youths intended to carry out the attack - in Israel proper or in the West Bank.

Since the beginning of the year, security forces have uncovered 16 explosive devices and two explosive belts near Nablus.

Meanwhile, Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip on Sunday fired two Qassam rockets into Israeli territory. Both rockets landed in open fields, one south of Ashkelon and the other in the western Negev. There were no injuries or damages in either incident.

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