Israeli police have conducted a raid on a long-standing Palestinian-owned bookstore in east Jerusalem, detaining the owners and seizing books related to the protracted conflict, reports AP.
Authorities stated that the books contained material inciting violence.
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The Educational Bookshop, which has been in operation for over 40 years, serves as a centre for intellectual activity in east Jerusalem. Israel captured the area in the 1967 Mideast war and later annexed it to its capital—a move not internationally recognised. The majority of Jerusalem’s Palestinian population resides in the east, and Palestinians aspire to establish their future state’s capital there.
The three-storey bookstore, raided on Sunday, offers a vast collection of books, primarily in Arabic and English, covering the conflict and broader Middle Eastern affairs, including works by Israeli and Jewish authors. It also hosts cultural events and is particularly frequented by researchers, journalists, and foreign diplomats.
According to May Muna, wife of co-owner Mahmoud Muna, police detained bookstore owners Ahmed and Mahmoud Muna, confiscated hundreds of books concerning the conflict, and ordered the shop’s closure. She described how the soldiers selected books based on Palestinian titles or flags, using Google Translate to interpret Arabic titles before taking them away in plastic bags.
A similar raid took place last week at another Palestinian-owned bookstore in east Jerusalem’s Old City.
In a statement, police claimed the two owners had been arrested for “selling books containing incitement and support for terrorism.”
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As an example, police cited an English-language children’s colouring book titled From the River to the Sea, a phrase referring to the land between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea, encompassing present-day Israel, the occupied West Bank, and the Gaza Strip.
Both Palestinians and hard-line Israelis consider the entire territory as their rightful homeland. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whose government opposes Palestinian statehood, has asserted that Israel must retain indefinite control over all land west of the Jordan River.
Israeli-Palestinian tensions have intensified since Hamas’ attack on 7 October 2023 from Gaza triggered the ongoing war. A ceasefire has temporarily halted hostilities, leading to the release of several Israeli hostages taken in the attack and hundreds of Palestinians detained by Israel. Meanwhile, tensions remain high in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
Hamas-led militants killed around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducted approximately 250 others in the 7 October assault. The ensuing war has resulted in over 47,000 Palestinian deaths, more than half of whom were women and children, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. The ministry does not specify how many casualties were fighters. Israel claims to have killed over 17,000 militants but has not provided evidence.
Israel took control of the West Bank, Gaza, and east Jerusalem in the 1967 Mideast war, and Palestinians seek all three territories for their future state. The last significant peace negotiations collapsed after Netanyahu returned to office in 2009.