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A photo taken on May 10, 2016 on the scene of an alleged stabbing attack in the illegal settlement of East Talpiyot. (MaanImages, File)
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BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) -- Israeli forces have detained three Palestinian minors suspected of being involved in an alleged stabbing attack earlier this month in occupied East Jerusalem, Israeli police said on Monday.

Israeli police spokesperson Luba al-Samri said in a statement that three Palestinians from the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Jabal al-Mukabbir, aged between 16 and 17 had been detained on May 19 in connection with the reported stabbing of two elderly Israeli women in the illegal Israeli settlement of East Talpiyot on May 10.

The two women were moderately injured when two youths stabbed them. Al-Samri reported that the third Palestinian who had been detained had left the area prior to the attack, fearing the consequences which could befall his family, including the demolition of their home, should he carry out an attack.

Al-Samri added that the mother of one of the suspects had been detained by Israeli forces a week prior to the attack over suspicions that she was planning a “terrorist stabbing attack” at the Mount of Olives checkpoint in East Jerusalem.

More than 200 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces and settlers since a wave of unrest spread across the occupied Palestinian territory in October.

The unrest has been marked by a surge of small-scale attacks carried out by Palestinian individuals -- predominantly on Israeli military targets -- which have left nearly 30 Israelis dead, with the majority of suspected Palestinian attackers shot dead on site.

In recent months, Israel has accused numerous Palestinians of “incitement,” alleging that it was behind a number of alleged attacks and attempted attacks against Israeli military targets and settlers.

Palestinians have instead pointed chiefly to the frustration and despair brought on by Israel's nearly 50-year military occupation of the Palestinian territory and the absence of a political horizon.

According to Palestinian prisoners’ rights organization Addameer, 7,000 Palestinians were held in Israeli prisons as of April, including 438 minors.