Israel arrested Adnan Gheith, governor of the Jerusalem District of the Palestinian Authority, sometime in the night between Feb. 26 and 27. On the backdrop of growing tensions over the Temple Mount compound and Al-Aqsa Mosque, Gheith was one of many senior officials arrested, including Waqf Council chairman Sheikh Abdel Azzam Salhab, in response to a Feb. 22 incident in which thousands of Muslim worshippers broke into the Bab al-Rahma (Gate of Merci, or Golden Gate) structure and held a mass prayer service there.
Israel shut down the building in 2003 upon the order of the chief of the Central Command, later backed up by an administrative order from the Jerusalem District Court. The argument was that activities taking place at the site were connected with the Northern Branch of the Islamic Movement (which has since been outlawed) and Hamas. The building has been locked since then and worshippers are denied entry. There were no protests when the building was first closed, nor were there any problems at the site during the Temple Mount riots of 2015 and 2017.
