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The police said that he was arrested for engaging in political activity in occupied East Jerusalem. Palestinians called it a part of a “harassment campaign.”
Israel arrested Jerusalem Affairs Minister Fadi Hadami of the Palestinian Authority (PA) this week, marking the second time in three months that he has been detained.
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The ministry said in a statement Wednesday that the Israeli forces raided the minister’s home before taking him into custody. Palestinians slammed the move and called it a part of a “harassment campaign.”
"He is being questioned by officers from the Jerusalem police district," Israeli police spokesperson Micky Rosenfeld said.
The police said that he was arrested for engaging in political activity in occupied East Jerusalem.
The authorities also summoned Adnan Ghaith, the Palestinian governor of Jerusalem and his son while raiding their house.
Both these men have been arrested before. Hadami was arrested in June for accompanying Chilean President Sebastian Piñera to a visit to Al-Aqsa Mosque.
"Anyone who is in any way associated with the PA in Jerusalem, they're routinely arrested because Israel wants to make sure that there is no Palestinian representation in Jerusalem," Diana Buttu a Haifa-based analyst and former legal adviser to Palestinian peace negotiators told Al Jazeera.
Yara Hawari, a Palestine policy fellow at Al-Shabaka think-tank said that the arrests are part of systematic harassment to severe every political connection of Palestinians to the city.
"They're doing this in multiple ways - culturally, physically and this is a political attempt," Hawari said.
"The accusations are often leveled against Hadami because of his various activities which include meeting foreign dignitaries or taking people on tours around Jerusalem, so it's hardly anything that warrants arrest."
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