Israel arrests Hamas Cabinet minister

Abu Arafa, minister of Jerusalem affairs, was held when he was on his way to Izzariya.

Israeli police on Thursday arrested a minister in the Palestinian's new Hamas government, the first time Israel has arrested a minister since the Cabinet was sworn in last week, Hamas officials said.

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Khaled Abu Arafa, minister of Jerusalem affairs, was arrested along with his bodyguard when he was on his way to Izzariya, a suburb near Jerusalem, where he was planning to open an office, the Hamas officials said.

Abu Arafa, a Jerusalem resident born in 1961, has been detained several times by Israel in the past.