Police arrested two terrorists at different locations Wednesday morning and prevented intended attacks on Be’er Sheva residents.

Acting on intelligence information, Border Police raided an apartment in the capital of the Negev and arrested a terrorist from Jenin, in Samaria, and confiscated a knife he intended to use to attack Be’er Sheva citizens.

In a separate incident, police at a checkpoint north of Be’er Sheva, again acting on intelligence information, stopped and arrested a terrorist whose official residence is in Gaza. The checkpoint is at the southern point of the security fence, one mile north of the suburban Be’er Sheva community of Metar.

Both terrorists are being questioned by security officers.

Be’er Sheva has been a convenient target for terrorists because of its proximity to the rural Negev, where terrorists from Gaza infiltrate via the Sinai Peninsula. Secueity officials have said there recently has been a sharp increase in warnings of terrorist attacks on Be’er Sheva.

They often work hand-in-hand with Negev Bedouin who are involved with weapons and drug trafficking. Although a large number of Bedouin serve in the IDF, there has been a rapid escalation in the past several years of Israeli Bedouin joining terrorist cells.