Amman - Hundreds of Jordanians staged a sit-in Thursday to protest what they called attempts by extremist Jews to storm Jerusalem's al-Aqsa Mosque, Islam's third holiest shrine.

The protest was organized by the Islamic Action Front, Jordan's largest political party and an arm of the influential Muslim Brotherhood movement.

Participants raised placards and chanted slogans urging the government to sever diplomatic ties with Israel and to close down the Israeli embassy in Amman.

They also called on the Palestinian Authority to stop negotiations with Israel and praised the hardline Hamas group.

Leader of the Muslim Brotherhood movement, Hammam Saeed, criticized Arab countries for "keeping silent" on attempts by Jewish extremists to break into the al-Aqsa mosque and plans by Israel to demolish scores of Palestinian homes in East Jerusalem.

He also lashed out at the Egyptian regime for cracking down on Hezbollah and Hamas activists, saying they were "carrying out legal jihad duties."

Saeed attacked the Palestinian Authority's detention of Hamas members in the West Bank and said such practices represented "a service for the occupation authorities."

He also condemned Jordan's State Security Court's sentencing of three Hamas activists after finding them guilty of spying on Jordanian military sites and the Israeli embassy in Amman.

"These people should be rewarded rather than punished," Saeed said. (dpa)