BEIJING, April 11 -- A senior Hamas leader in the West Bank has been detained by Israeli police after he secretly entered Jerusalem to lead prayer in the al-Aqsa Mosque.

    Witnesses said Hassan Yousef was driving back to the West Bank from Jerusalem when he was stopped at an Israeli checkpoint and taken from his vehicle by police.

    Meanwhile, security is being tightened at the entrance to the Temple Mount, which is not open to non-Muslims, and Israeli police have arrested a number of right wing extremists who planned to hold demonstrations there.

    In another development, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has criticized a barrage of Palestinian mortar fire at Jewish settlements in Gaza as a "flagrant violation" of a truce deal.

    The Israeli Army said more than 70 mortars and rockets had been fired at Jewish settlements in Gaza since Saturday, after Israeli soldiers killed three Palestinian youths in the coastal strip.

    
(Source: CRIENGLISH.com)