A group of young IDF soldiers who staged a raid near Bethlehem and invaded homes turned out to be not Israeli soldiers at all, but rather, a group of Palestinian Authority Arab teenagers. It is unclear why the teens were pretending to be soldiers, and whether their motives were criminal or political.

The incident took place on Friday night in the village of Marah Rabah, according to the Bethlehem-based Maan news agency. The five young “soldiers” managed to put a street under curfew and break into multiple homes before they were discovered.

When villagers realized that the “soldiers” were actually local teens, they surrounded the gang and called in PA security forces. PA troops arrested the five, ages 15 to 17, and took them in for questioning.

While PA forces have not yet determined what the group was attempting to do, one officer told Israeli media that the teens are suspected of planning to steal property. They planned to rob houses after confining their inhabitants to a side room, he explained.

Local PA officers termed the incident “very serious.” They did not say what the charges against the youths may be, or what sentences they will face if found guilty.