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JENIN (Ma'an) -- Israeli forces took control over an inhabited Palestinian house and turned it into a military base in the village of Yabad, near Jenin, in the northern West Bank on Friday.

Two Israeli military vehicles raided the house of Atef Khalil Abu Baker in the al-Maloul area south of Yabad municipality, and subsequently stationed themselves on the roof of the house at around 12.30 p.m.

Israeli forces claimed that they occupied the house because of its vantage point over the area.

They added that they intended to monitor children who throw stones at army and Israeli settler vehicles traveling to Hermesh and Mevo Dotan, two illegal Israeli settlements nearby.

The occupation comes after a Palestinian near Yabad hurled an improvised explosive device at an Israeli settler school bus early Friday morning.

Israeli forces frequently impose closures and take over houses in Yabad due to its proximity to two Israeli settlements. Israeli forces have kept the western entrance to the village closed since August, while they periodically set up checkpoints at the eastern entrance.

The internationally recognized Palestinian territories of which the West Bank forms a part have been occupied by the Israeli military since 1967.

More than 500,000 Israeli settlers live in settlements across the West Bank and East Jerusalem, in contravention of international law.