Israel releases Palestine’s Jerusalem affairs minister

JERUSALEM (AA) – Israeli police on Sunday released Palestinian Minister for Jerusalem Affairs, Fadi Hadami, shortly after being detained from his home in East Jerusalem, according to his lawyer.

Israeli forces arrested Hadami during a dawn raid and searched his home, lawyer Muhannad Jabara said.

Israeli police gave no reason for the minister’s arrest.

“He was arrested as a result of pressure practiced by the Israeli right-wing on the Israeli government after Hadami joined the Chilean president’s tour in Al-Aqsa Mosque,” Jabara said in a statement.

Hamadi had accompanied Chilean President Sebastian Pinera during a visit on Tuesday to East Jerusalem’s flashpoint Al-Aqsa Mosque compound.

The visit has angered the Israeli government, which summoned the Chilean ambassador to protest the tour.

According to the lawyer, Israeli intelligence and police agents questioned Hadami about accusations of violating Israel’s “sovereignty” over Jerusalem and the Al-Aqsa Mosque.

For Muslims, the Al-Aqsa represents the world's third holiest site. Jews, for their part, refer to the area as the "Temple Mount", claiming it was the site of two Jewish temples in ancient times.

Israel occupied East Jerusalem, in which the Al-Aqsa is located, during the 1967 Arab-Israeli War.

In a move never recognized by the international community, Israel annexed the entire city in 1980, claiming it as the self-proclaimed Jewish state’s “eternal and undivided” capital.