Security forces on Sunday prevented two Palestinians from breaching the perimeter fence in Itamar, a community in Samaria southeast of Nablus where five members of one family were murdered in their beds in 2011.
One suspect was apprehended at the scene, but the second was still at large, the IDF said.
According to available details, infantry soldiers deployed in the area spotted the suspects, both wearing khaki but not IDF uniforms, tampering with the community's fence.
One of the suspects was caught and arrested. He was found to be carrying binoculars and a pocketknife. The other fled, prompting a search of the neighboring villages and the outskirts of Nablus.
The IDF said riots broke out in three different places when troops were searching the nearby Palestinian village of Beit Furik for the second suspect, with dozens of Palestinians throwing stones at the Israeli soldiers, who used crowd control measures to restore order.
An IDF official said the search for the second suspect was continuing.
Itamar has been the target of terrorist attacks in the past. In 2011, Israel was stunned by a particularly gruesome attack, when a Palestinian terrorist breached the community's fence, broke into a home and massacred five members of the Fogel family in their beds, including three young children.
The community was placed on alert during Sunday's incident and residents were told to remain indoors while security forces canvassed the area.
An IDF statement said the incident was being reviewed and it was still unclear whether the suspects were planning to carry out a terrorist attack or were on a reconnaissance mission ahead of a future attack. The possibility that this was a criminal incident is also being explored.
Itamar residents praised the IDF's rapid response, saying it "prevented a tragedy."
