Tel Aviv, Aug 26 (IANS): The Israeli Military Prosecution has filed an indictment against an influential senior official in the Islamic Jihad, the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said.

Bassam al-Saadi is accused of committing crimes of affiliation with and activity in an illegal association, the Islamic Jihad, reports dpa news agency.

He has also been charged with impersonation, incitement and aiding contact with "enemy elements",

According to the indictment, al-Saadi worked alongside additional operatives on core terrorist activities, including receiving funding from an Islamic Jihad operative in the Gaza Strip.

In addition, al-Saadi is said to have called for the continuation of violent Palestinian attacks.

Moreover, when Israeli security forces arrived to apprehend him, al-Saadi impersonated someone else in an attempt to escape arrest.

The Military Prosecution requested that al-Saadi be detained until the end of the legal proceedings in his case.

At the request of the defence attorney to study the evidence, at this stage al-Saadi's detention has been extended until Sunday, at which time a hearing will be held on the prosecution's request to detain him until the end of the legal proceedings.

Al-Saadi has been in detention since August 1.

The investigation began following intelligence which indicated that he was continuing his activities in Islamic Jihad.

Islamic Jihad threatened to attack Israel after his arrest. As a result, the Israeli military launched a large-scale military operation against Islamic Jihad in the Gaza Strip three weeks ago.

Dozens of people died. The militant Palestinians fired rockets at Israeli towns.

After three days of fighting, a ceasefire was agreed with Egyptian help.