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BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- Images of two Palestinian women and a young girl scuffling with an Israeli soldier after he tackled a Palestinian boy with a broken arm went viral Friday evening, after the images became widely circulated on social media networks and mainstream media outlets.

The incident took place in the central occupied West Bank village of Nabi Saleh near Ramallah, where local, international and Israeli activists gather for weekly Friday rallies in protest against Israel’s separation wall, a well as settlement expansion and other policies considered illegal under international law.

The rallies in Nabi Saleh were first organized in 2009 and have carried on every week since then.

Photos and video footage appeared to show an Israeli soldier clinging to a boy, later identified as Muhammad Basim Tamimi, 12, while the child's mother, Nariman Tamimi, his sister, Ahed Tamimi, and aunt, Nawal Tamimi, attempt to pull the soldier off him.

The photos were captured by AFP and Reuters, while video footage was also captured by local activists.

In one of the images the sister is seen biting the Israeli soldier's hand to force him to release her brother.

Two days before the incident, the twelve-year-old boy suffered a broken arm during an Israeli raid in the village and can be seen wearing a cast in the photos.

During the scuffle, a mask was removed off the Israeli soldier’s face. The family eventually managed to free the boy and take him home.

Mahmoud al-Tamimi and Marcus Got, an Italian activist, were arrested during the clashes Friday.

An Israeli army spokeswoman said that the incident took place during a "violent riot" in Nabi Saleh.

She said that Israeli forces attempted to arrest the boy after he was identified "hurling rocks."

However, "a group of rioters, including women and children, attacked the soldiers," she said, and the commanding Israeli officer stopped the arrest to prevent an "escalation of violence."