Israel seizes top Hamas leader in West Bank

RAMALLAH, West Bank (Reuters) - Israeli troops seized a top Hamas militant in the occupied West Bank on Saturday, Israeli military and Palestinian security sources said.

Saleh al-Aruri, who officials said founded Hamas's Qassam Brigades armed wing in the West Bank, was captured by Israeli forces in a village north of Ramallah.

Hamas denounced Aruri's arrest as proof of collusion between Israel and President Mahmoud Abbas's forces who were routed by Hamas in Gaza on June 14.

Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said the move was proof of a "dual conspiracy" against Hamas Islamists in the West Bank, one led by Israel and the other by Abbas's security forces.

Israel released Aruri from custody in March 2007 after he spent 15 years in an Israeli prison for founding the Qassam Brigades, an Israeli security source said.

The source said Aruri was arrested again on Saturday after he "continued to openly operate as part of the Hamas terror organization".