Ghaith was the Fatah movement secretary in Silwan and one of the leaders of the People's Committee in the Al-Bustan neighbourhood of Jerusalem which has led local opposition to the "City of David" archaeological-tourist park. Because of his position and activities he has been arrested several times by Israel.[2]
In 2011, Ghaith, at the time Fatah Secretary-General, was banned from entering Jerusalem for eight months.[3]
On November 25, 2018, Ghaith was arrested along with 40 other members of the Fatah movement but released only a week later. His lawyer claimed that the Israeli authorities tried to harass him. His previous arrest was in October.[4] He was subsequently banned from entering the Israeli-occupied West Bank for six months.[5]
In February 2020, Ghaith was again banned from the West Bank for six months.[6]
In July 2020, Ghaith was again arrested and was, according to his lawyers, investigated, over "planning an act of terrorism" but then released on August 4, 2020.[7][8] It was his third arrest in 2020 and his 17th since he was appointed governor in 2018.[9][10] In September, Israel issued him an order preventing him from meeting with many PA officials, including President Mahmoud Abbas and Prime Minister Mohammed Shtayyeh.[11]
