Soldiers raided an apartment in the town of Ramallah about 3am on Sunday (1200 AEDT) and arrested the two activists, Bridgette Chappell of Australia and Ariadna Jove Marti of Spain, according to the pro-Palestinian International Solidarity Movement (ISM).

The soldiers also confiscated cameras, a computer, pro-Palestinian banners and ISM registration forms, according to Ryan Olander, a US activist who was at the home at the time of the raid.

The arrests, which the ISM said was aimed at intimidating protesters, follow a similar raid last month in which a Czech activist was detained and deported, and come amid heightened efforts to curtail Palestinian protests in the West Bank that are supported by foreigners and Israelis.

The Israeli military said the two were arrested for "staying in Israel illegally'' and transferred to the custody of the interior ministry.

"One of them was holding fake documents and the other's visa had expired,'' a military spokesman said, without providing further details.

"Both of them were known to be involved in illegal violence,'' he added, referring to their participation in West Bank demonstrations.

Neta Golan, an Israeli co-founder of the ISM, admitted the two had overstayed their tourist visas but insisted their arrest was aimed at curbing protests against Israeli policies.

"They are being targeted because they are activists but, because they haven't broken any law, the excuse for getting rid of them is that they have overstayed their visas,'' Golan told Agence France-Presse.