A man reportedly detained for plotting to kill Palestinian Authority officials is not a member of the PA security services, a top security official said on Tuesday.
PA security spokesman Adnan Ad-Dmeiri told Ma'an that Mujahed Nimer, a resident of Qalandiya refugee camp, has never been a member of the Ramallah government's forces.
Nimer was arrested on criminal charges following a warrant issued by prosecutors, Dmeiri said, contradicting a report in the Israeli daily Yedioth Ahronoth that identified Nimer as "a top official in the Palestinian security apparatus."
Quoting a senior Fatah source, the Hebrew-language newspaper said Nimer, identified as a police officer, was apprehended along with four other members of a group, said to be affiliated with Fatah, for planning to carry out an assassination.
According to Ad-Dmeiri, however, Nimer's arrest was unrelated to to any plot to kill officials. He declined to say why Nimer and the others were detained, however, refusing to comment on an "ongoing investigation."
The security official described Yedioth Ahronoth's report as part of a "campaign against the Palestinian Authority."
Meanwhile, Israeli forces detained the head of the PA's preventative security services in Jerusalem on Monday. Muhammad As-Sayyad was seized at his home, and was expected be held for 24 hours of questioning.
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