JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Palestinian police said on Wednesday a top leader of the armed wing of the militant Hamas group was killed and his body planted near a car that exploded on Sunday in the West Bank town of Ramallah. "The body was identified as that of Mohi ad-Deen Sharif. His father, mother and brothers identified him earlier this morning. The pathologist said after performing the autopsy that the person was killed before the explosion," a senior Palestinian security official told Reuters. The official, who declined to be identified, said Sharif died of gunshot wounds before his body was moved near a car packed with explosives which blew up in an industrial area near Palestinian-ruled Ramallah. Sharif topped Israel`s most wanted list of Moslem militants involved in deadly Hamas suicide bombings against Israeli targets. Hamas violently opposes Israeli-Palestinian peace deals. The official gave no indication who was responsible for the killing and explosion but hinted that Israel might have been behind it. "This is a confusing puzzle. The Palestinian Authority condemns this crime and considers it a serious attempt to destabalise its areas. The investigation is continuing to find the perpetrators," the official said.