Israelis arrest bigwig

PALESTINE’S JERUSALEM GOVERNOR: HELD ON MONEY-RELATED ISSUES Gheith was previously detained for two days of questioning before being released.

Israeli police arrested the Palestinian governor of Jerusalem for the second time in as many months, a spokesperson said yesterday, after reports of an investigation related to a land sale.

Adnan Gheith was arrested in east Jerusalem overnight, police spokesperson Micky Rosenfeld said in a statement without providing further details.

Israeli security forces would not comment beyond saying the arrest had to do with money-related issues.

Gheith was due to attend a remand hearing in the Jerusalem magistrate’s court later in the day.

On October 20, Gheith was detained for two days of questioning before being released, with Israel’s Shin Bet domestic security agency saying it was over “illegal activity by the Palestinian Authority [PA] in Jerusalem”.

He was also taken for questioning a number of times in recent weeks and his office was raided on November 4.

Israeli media have reported that authorities have been investigating the governor following the PA’s arrest in October of a man accused of being involved in selling property in east Jerusalem to a Jewish buyer.

Such sales are considered treasonous among Palestinians, concerned with Israeli settlers buying property in east Jerusalem.

Israelis have called for authorities to free the man arrested by the PA over the sale.