JERUSALEM ¨C An Israeli man was arrested on Wednesday on suspicion of hacking Madonna¡¯s computer and selling the pop icon¡¯s songs online, a private investigator involved in the case said.

Israeli police confirmed they had detained a man suspected of stealing the work of a number of international stars, but declined to name any of the possible victims.

In December, unfinished tracks were leaked from Madonna¡¯s ¡°Rebel Heart¡± album before its release, an act the singer described as ¡°artistic rape¡± in a post, later deleted, from her Instagram account.

Asher Wizman, owner of the Wizman-Yaar investigation firm in Israel, said Madonna¡¯s team contacted his company several weeks ago to look into the matter after rumors of an Israeli connection to the leak.

Madonna, a devotee of Jewish mysticism, has visited Israel several times and kicked off a 2012 world tour in Tel Aviv.

¡°Our investigator found her computers, at home and at a studio, were broken into from a computer in Israel,¡± Wizman said. ¡°We tracked down the computer, and the man behind it. After gathering enough evidence, we turned to the police and he was arrested today.¡±

The name of the 39-year-old suspect was not immediately released by police, who said its cyberunit had carried out an investigation along with the FBI following a complaint from a Madonna representative in Israel.

Israeli media said the man taken into custody was a former contestant on a popular television singing contest in Israel.

¡°He is suspected of computer hacking, copyright violation and fraudulent receipt of goods,¡± a police spokesman said, declining to confirm that Madonna was a target.

¡°During the investigation it appeared the suspect had broken into the computers of a number of international artists, stole unreleased demos and final tracks and sold them over the Internet,¡± the spokesman said.

No charges have yet been filed against him.