TEL AVIV – Israel's military has concluded that Hamas seeks to torpedo the ceasefire agreement between Israel and the Palestinian Authority.

Israeli military sources said military intelligence has obtained information of Hamas plans to carry out suicide strikes to shatter the ceasefire declared in February 2004. The sources said the Hamas plans stem from operatives in the northern West Bank.

Some of the information on Hamas's plans came from a senior operative, identified as Said Ahras. Ahras, said to be a key operative in the northern West Bank, was captured on Feb. 21 in a joint military-police operation near Nablus, Middle East Newsline reported.

The sources said Ahras planned a major attack on Israeli military forces in the Nablus area. They said Ahras was promised that he would receive several large bombs from Hamas in Nablus.

"Recent information reveals that Ahras was currently in the last stages of planning an attack on IDF forces in the area of Nablus, which would sabotage the recent agreements made with the Palestinian Authority," an Israeli military source said. "For the attack, Ahras was to receive several powerful explosive devices from the Hamas terrorist infrastructure in Nablus."

Hamas has halted its Kassam-class short-range missile attacks against Israel over the last 10 days. But the group has fired mortars toward Israeli communities in the Gaza Strip.

The sources said Ahras was also recruiting Palestinians to form a cell that would carry out a series of attacks against Israeli civilian and military targets. They said Ahras had authorized his aides to purchase weapons and explosive materials for the strikes.