Hamas said on Tuesday that the arrest of its members in the West Bank by the IDF was aimed at foiling efforts to achieve Palestinian "national reconciliation."
Palestinian sources said that the IDF arrested several Hamas members in pre-dawn raids on their homes in various West Bank cities.
Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said that Tuesday's arrests were also designed to "negatively impact" the results of future elections in the Palestinian territories.
He pointed out that the arrests coincided with the beginning of the Palestinian Central Elections Commission's effort to register voters for presidential and parliamentary elections.
Abu Zuhri also criticized the Palestinian Authority security forces in the West Bank for their ongoing clampdown on Hamas supporters and figures. He warned that the chances of holding new elections had been weakened as the result of the PA crackdown.
He urged the PA leadership to "prove its sincere desire" to end the dispute with Hamas by stopping the crackdown and security coordination with Israel.
Musa Abu Marzouk, a senior Hamas official, also criticized the PA leadership for arresting several members of the Islamist movement in the West Bank.
He said that the PA and Israeli crackdown on Hamas was aimed at disrupting efforts to achieve reconciliation with Fatah and hold free elections.
Among those who were arrested by the IDF Tuesday are Ra'fat Nassif, Ktadah Badawi and Musab al-Ashkar from Tulkarem Muthanna Shtayyeh, Osama Yammin, Walid Assideh and Musa Yammin from Nablus.
Altogether, some 15 Hamas members were arrested by the IDF, the sources said.
Last week, the IDF arrested more than 30 Hamas figures and supporters in the West Bank.
Also Tuesday, the PA arrested two Hamas supporters in the West Bank: Mohamed Harb and Adam Abu Sharar.