Israeli security forces arrested a Hamas military leader suspected of heading cells responsible for the murders of 70 Israeli civilians during the Palestinian uprising which broke out in 2000, the Israeli military spokesman said Sunday.

Maher Udda was arrested in Ramallah Saturday night, the statement said. He was on Israel's wanted list for 10 years.

Udda, 47, founded an Hamas cell in the early 1990s, which kidnapped Palestinians suspected of collaborating with Israel, and demanded weapons in exchange for their release.

He was detained for several months in a Palestinian Authority prison in 1998.

Information obtained by Israel's Shin Bet internal security agency led to Udda's arrest, the statement said.