Occupied Jerusalem: Israeli occupation police on Wednesday arrested a senior Palestinian official after recent scuffles at Al Haram Al Sharif, officials said.
The Palestinian governor of Occupied Jerusalem, Adnan Gheith, was among 22 Palestinians arrested overnight in raids in Occupied east Jerusalem, official Palestinian news agency WAFA said.
There have recently been scuffles between worshippers and police there over access to a side building in the compound closed by Israel since 2003.
Arguing there was no longer any reason for it to remain closed, Palestinian officials reopened the building on Friday and crowds of worshippers prayed inside despite an Israeli order barring access.
The building is known as the Golden Gate or Gate of Mercy in Arabic.
On Sunday, police arrested and later released a top Palestinian Muslim official, Abdul Azeem Salhab, and his deputy after the holy site incidents.
Salhab is the head of the council of the Waqf in Occupied Jerusalem, the religious authority that governs the site in the disputed city.
The arrest drew condemnation from Jordan, the custodian of the holy compound.
The site is the third-holiest in Islam and a focus of Palestinian aspirations for statehood.
