Israeli police said Friday that two badly burnt bodies found Wednesday in central Israel had been identified as belonging to two Palestinian brothers from the city of Afula.

Criminal and forensic investigations have revealed that the two bodies, which were discovered on Wednesday in Israel's central Ramllah district, had belonged to Hilmi and Murad Karaja, Palestinain brothers from the city of Afula, Israeli police spokesperson Luba Samri said in statement.

Samri said that the incident appeared to be criminal in nature, but couldn't confirm this until investigations had been concluded.

The incident has caused an uproar among Palestinians in Israel due to the brutal nature of the murder, the full details of which have yet to be revealed.

In July, three Jewish settlers kidnapped Mohamed Abu Khdeer, a Palestinian youth from East Jerusalem's Shuafat district, and burned him alive, according to the confessions made by the perpetrators.

Tension has mounted recently in the Palestinian territories and in Israel due to repeated Israeli "violations" of the flashpoint al-Aqsa Mosque compound.

Israeli authorities briefly closed the Mosque compound in late October following the shooting of an extremist rabbi in West Jerusalem.

The closure of al-Aqsa, along with the killing by Israeli police of a young Palestinian man suspected of shooting the rabbi, has prompted angry Palestinian protests in East Jerusalem.