A top Palestinian Authority official was among those arrested Sunday for attacking police officers during riots at the Temple Mount.
Hatam Abdel Khader, a senior Fatah official who serves as PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas's adviser on Jerusalem affairs, was charged on suspicion of disorderly conduct.
Khader, who formerly served as the PA "Minister for Jerusalem Affairs" was allegedly taken into custody for personally attacking a police officer and inciting the rioters. Senior Islamic Movement official Ali Abu Sheikha was also arrested at the scene for disrupting the peace and incitement.
This is not the first time that Khader, a senior Fatah member and member of the PA Legislative Council, has been accused of inciting Muslim worshipers on the Temple Mount. Just three weeks ago, he was involved in a similar incident.
On Saturday evening, October 3, the Fatah official was arrested for incitement and held overnight after issuing a call to Muslims to come to the Temple Mount in order to "defend" it from a "Jewish takeover." Khader had chosen to issue the call on the first day of the week-long holiday of Sukkot, during which thousands of Jews make their pilgrimage to Jerusalem and the holy sites of the Western Wall and the Temple Mount.
The next day, Muslims did indeed heed the call and streamed into the Old City; some 150 Arabs hurled rocks and bottles at police officers, and the decision was soon announced that the Temple Mount was closed due to mounting security concerns.
That evening, Khader and Islamic Movement leader Kamal Khatib were both barred by the Jerusalem Magistrates Court from entering the Old City of Jerusalem for a period of 15 days.
This past May, Khader said in a statement that he favors transferring control of the Temple Mount to the 57-member Islamic Conference Organization as part of a final status agreement between Israel and the PA. "The most important thing is to end the Israeli occupation," Khader told reporters at the time.