Israeli forces carried out raids across the West Bank and Jerusalem on the 19th,
detaining at least 31 Palestinians, Palestinian sources said. Among those
arrested was Palestinian Authority Jerusalem affairs minister Ashraf al-Awar,
seized at his home in the Silwan neighborhood south of the Al-Aqsa Mosque in the
Old City. Al-Awar was barred from entering the West Bank in January, the PA
said, calling the arrest the latest in a series of restrictions on Palestinian
officials in Jerusalem. The Israeli military had not commented.