The Israeli Magistrate Court ordered today release of Palestinian Authority (PA) governor Adnan Ghaith after the Israeli security has failed to appeal its decision.

The court gave the security service until 6:00 pm local time to submit an appeal to its ruling earlier in the day, and after the deadline has passed, Ghaith was set free.

Ghaith was detained at his home in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Silwan in an Israeli security crackdown on Palestinian activists, politicians and religious figures in occupied East Jerusalem in light of the tension at Al-Aqsa Mosque over prayer rights for Muslims at Bab al-Rahma gate located within Al-Aqsa compound, the third holiest site in Islam where Muslims are supposed to worship freely anywhere on its premises.

Israel closed the Bab al-Rahma area since 2003 and prevented Muslim worship there under all sorts of pretexts until Palestinians decided last week to defy the Israeli order and reopen it for prayer.