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HEBRON (Ma'an) -- Israeli forces early Tuesday detained a young Palestinian woman and a man in the Old City of Hebron, locals told Ma'an.

Witnesses said Israeli troops stationed at a checkpoint in southern Hebron stopped a teenager, Tahani Muhammad Abu Mayyala, for inspection.

Soldiers took her into custody after allegedly finding a knife in her handbag, witnesses said.

Locals added that journalist Hamza Ahmad Salaymah, who was near the checkpoint at the time, tried to convince the soldiers to release the girl, and was subsequently taken into custody himself.

An Israeli army spokesman said two Palestinians were arrested in Hebron overnight, but did not immediately provide further information about arrests at a checkpoint.

As of February 2014 there were 99 fixed checkpoints in the West Bank, and 59 of them were "internal checkpoints," deep within the West Bank, according to the Israeli rights group B'Tselem.