Israeli authorities on Thursday announced the arrest of two Palestinian suspects in a deadly mob attack on two soldiers who entered Palestinian-controlled areas during the height of hostilities in 2000.

In October 2000, a mob in Ramallah dragged army reservists Vadim Nurzhitz and Yossi Avrahami out of their vehicle when they entered the city en route to their base.

They then pulled the troops into a nearby building and mutilated the bodies. An iconic photo of a Palestinian youth waving his blood-stained hands out of the window where the killings took place, further intensified the already simmering conflict between Israelis and Palestinians.

In 2001, Israeli forces arrested the youth, Aziz Saleh, and sentenced him to life in prison. However, in 2011, he, along with over 1,000 other security prisoners, was released in a deal with Hamas in return for the freedom of kidnapped Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit.

The two suspects were arrested in June, during a joint operation by the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) and Judea and Samaria district police, according to details released from a gag order.

The two confessed to their involvement in the attack, The Jerusalem Post newspaper reported, and were charged in a military court on Sunday, according to police spokesman Dudi Asraf.

He added that the families of the deceased were notified about the arrests.

"We told the families of the deceased that the Israeli Police and security forces have not forgotten about their sons," he said, adding that "those involved in the crime will be tried irrespectively of the 12 years that passed since the crime was committed."

The forces also uncovered an extensive Hamas terror infrastructure in Ramallah during the operation.