Palestinian youth throw rocks. (Miriam Alster/FLASH90)

Police and security forces captured a terror cell responsible for attacking motorists traveling on a main highway. Members included minors and former prisoners.

In a joint operation, the IDF and Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) on Wednesday arrested 16 Palestinian terrorists responsible for throwing rocks and firebombs at Israeli motorists along Route 443, the main highway linking Tel Aviv with Jerusalem via Modi’in.

The terror cell was based in the village of Kharbatha al-Misbah, located in the Palestinian Authority-administered Ramallah district of Judea and Samaria, east of Modi’in. Under investigation, two main members, Suhib Yousef Masalah and Bilal Abed Kasbah, admitted to having organized a series of firebomb attacks.

Route 443 has been the site of many Palestinian terror attacks during the current wave of terror.

The cell included several minors and former prisoners.