Israel extends detention of ex-Palestinian Jerusalem minister

An Israeli court in occupied Jerusalem yesterday extended the administrative detention of Khaled Abu Arafa, the former Palestinian minister of Jerusalem affairs, for another four months.

The Israeli intelligence service, Shin Bet, detained Abu Arafa on 11 November after summoning him for interrogation at the Ofer Detention Centre near Ramallah in the occupied West Bank.

On 17 November, an Israeli court in Jerusalem extended his detention for several days before issuing an administrative detention order for four months against him.

Khaled Abu Arafa, 59, had been detained in Israeli jails several times before. He was banned from Jerusalem upon his release in 2014.

Administrative detention is a form of detention without charge or trial. Its use may result in arbitrary detention and if prolonged or repeated can amount to cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment, Amnesty International has previously warned. It has no time limit, and the evidence on which it is based is not disclosed.

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