JERUSALEM  

Israeli police detained Jerusalem governor Adnan Ghaith on Sunday in a raid on his home, according to a local NGO.

Police raided Ghaith’s home in Silwan neighborhood in Jerusalem and took him into custody, the Wadi Hilweh Information Center said in a statement.

It was not yet clear the reason for the arrest.

This is the third time the Jerusalem governor has been detained by Israeli forces this year. Ghaith had been briefly arrested in April and May.

Israeli forces have shut down several Palestinian institutions and arrested prominent figures in recent months as part of a campaign to crack down on Palestinian symbols in Jerusalem.

Jerusalem remains at the heart of the decades-long Mideast conflict, with Palestinians hoping that East Jerusalem -- occupied by Israel since 1967 -- might one day serve as the capital of a Palestinian state.

International law continues to view East Jerusalem, along with the entire West Bank, as "occupied territories" and considers all Jewish settlement construction there as illegal.

*Ibrahim Mukhtar contributed to this report from Ankara