Mohammed Hussein Detained by Israel For Hours Before Release

JERUSALEM : Israeli police detained the top Muslim cleric in the Holy Land Wednesday in a rare crackdown on a leading religious figure, questioning him for several hours before releasing him without charge.Later in the day, in the Gaza Strip, an influential Muslim cleric from Qatar received a hero's welcome in a high-profile visit that deepened the bitter division between Gaza's hardline Islamist rulers and the West Bank's Western-backed Palestinian leaders.

Israeli air strikes on Syria 'unacceptable': Turkish PM

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday said the Israeli air raids on Syria were "unacceptable."

"No excuse can justify this operation," Erdogan told ruling party lawmakers in parliament after Israel's weekend strikes on the war-torn country sent regional tensions soaring.

Israeli air raids killed at least 42 soldiers, according to monitoring groups, fuelling international concern over a spillover of the conflict, as Damascus warned it would strike back.