A candidate for next month's Palestinian presidential election, Mustafa Barghuti, was detained Monday by Israeli police while campaigning in east Jerusalem, his spokesman told AFP. Barghuti was led away to the central police station after being arrested while campaigning in Jerusalem's Old City, his spokesman Allam Jarrar told AFP.
A spokesman for Jerusalem police confirmed that Barghuti, who polls show is running a distant second to frontrunner Mahmud Abbas, had been detained.
"He was detained for questioning because he has the right to transit through Jerusalem but not be in Jerusalem itself," Shmulik Ben Ruby told AFP.
The 51-year-old candidate was likely to be released within the next few hours, the spokesman added.
Barghuti is the secretary general of the Palestinian National Initiative which campaigns for greater democracy and human rights. He was also arrested in 2001 by Israeli police for being in east Jerusalem without permission.
In a gesture of defiance he announced his candidacy for the presidential election in an east Jerusalem hotel last month, proclaiming proudly that he did not have authorisation from Israeli authorities.
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