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Israel Releases Jerusalem Governor

Palestinian governor of Jerusalem Adnan Ghaith (C) meets relatives after his release from detention in Jerusalem on December 2, 2018. (AFP)
Palestinian governor of Jerusalem Adnan Ghaith (C) meets relatives after his release from detention in Jerusalem on December 2, 2018. (AFP)
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Israel Releases Jerusalem Governor

Palestinian governor of Jerusalem Adnan Ghaith (C) meets relatives after his release from detention in Jerusalem on December 2, 2018. (AFP)
Palestinian governor of Jerusalem Adnan Ghaith (C) meets relatives after his release from detention in Jerusalem on December 2, 2018. (AFP)

The Israeli Magistrate Court in Jerusalem ordered on Tuesday the release of Jerusalem Governor Adnan Ghaith, who was detained on “terrorism” charges in July.

The Palestinian news agency (WAFA) said that Ghaith and Jerusalem intelligence chief, Jihad al-Faqih, were released and ordered to avoid contacting each other and the Fatah and Palestinian leaders in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

Ghaith has been arrested by Israeli security forces more 17 times over the past two years, but typically over the minor offence of engaging in "illegal" political activities in the disputed city.

Israel occupied east Jerusalem in the 1967 Six-Day War and later annexed it in a move never recognized by the international community.

It considers the entire city its capital, while the Palestinians see the eastern sector as the capital of their future state.

Israel bans all Palestinian Authority activities in the city.

As a result, the PA has a minister for Jerusalem affairs and a Jerusalem governor located in Al-Ram, just on the other side of an Israeli wall that separates the city and the West Bank.

Ghaith has repeatedly been arrested for allegedly carrying out PA activities in east Jerusalem, including for working to ensure Palestinians in the city had access to essential services in the battle against coronavirus.

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Palestinian Government Says It's Ready to Run the Gaza Strip and the West Bank

This picture taken from the Israeli side of the border with the Gaza Strip shows an afternoon view of destroyed buildings in Gaza, on January 20, 2025, following a ceasefire deal a day earlier between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas group. (AFP)
This picture taken from the Israeli side of the border with the Gaza Strip shows an afternoon view of destroyed buildings in Gaza, on January 20, 2025, following a ceasefire deal a day earlier between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas group. (AFP)
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Palestinian Government Says It's Ready to Run the Gaza Strip and the West Bank

This picture taken from the Israeli side of the border with the Gaza Strip shows an afternoon view of destroyed buildings in Gaza, on January 20, 2025, following a ceasefire deal a day earlier between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas group. (AFP)
This picture taken from the Israeli side of the border with the Gaza Strip shows an afternoon view of destroyed buildings in Gaza, on January 20, 2025, following a ceasefire deal a day earlier between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas group. (AFP)

The Palestinian government says it is ready to take responsibility for running the Gaza Strip and the West Bank and is committed to managing crossing points in collaboration with the European Union and Egypt.
The Palestinian minister of state for foreign affairs, Varsen Aghabekian, told a ministerial meeting of the UN Security Council on Monday on Gaza that the government welcomes any assistance to train and equip the Palestinian police and security forces. She also called for urgent humanitarian aid, The Associated Press said.
She expressed hope that the six-week ceasefire will lead to a final ceasefire and lay the foundations for a political track to end Israel’s occupation within a year as called for by the International Court of Justice, the UN’s highest tribunal.
Israel’s political coordinator, Reut Shapir Ben Naftaly, told the council “This war will not end until every hostage is returned and Hamas’ ability to terrorize is dismantled.”
She said the Middle East stands at “a turning point” where Iran’s proxies Hamas and Hezbollah in Lebanon have suffered “devastating losses” and its “network of terror” including the Houthis in Yemen have faced significant setbacks.
Ben Naftaly said Israel has no interest in a conflict with Syria “but we will not tolerate a situation that endangers our civilians, allows Iran to re-establish itself in the region, and transfer weapons to Hezbollah.”