JERUSALEM (Ma'an) -- Israeli forces on Wednesday detained the director general of public affairs in the Jerusalem governorate as he drove through the Qalandiya checkpoint north of Jerusalem, an official said.

Ahmad Syam, spokesman for the governorate office, told Ma'an that Hamdi al-Rajabi was detained while he was driving through the Qalandiya checkpoint.

He was taken to a detention center at al-Maskobyeh west of Jerusalem.