A man who tried to kidnap his two young daughters and take them to the West Bank on Thursday was arrested, and the girls were returned to their mother, Israel Police said.

The kidnapping attempt began in the morning in the southern Israeli port city of Ashdod, following a domestic violence incident between the 31-year-old suspect and his wife, police said.

Police said the man fled the scene, making off with his daughters — aged one and three — to the Palestinian village of Bayt Awwa, west of Hebron.

When the incident was reported to police, officers began tracking the man’s vehicle as it headed into the West Bank.

The suspect was later arrested at a home in the village by detectives, who were assisted by IDF troops accompanying them into the community.

The toddlers were returned to their mother, and the suspect was taken for questioning to the Ashdod police station.

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