Israeli police have confiscated books and arrested Palestinian booksellers following a raid on two famous East Jerusalem bookshops.
The raid on The Educational Bookshops happened on Sunday and hundreds of titles relating to the ongoing conflict in the region were bagged up and taken away, with police accusing the pair of inciting terrorism.
That charge was reduced to a public order offence.
Mahmoud Muna, who went to university in England, and his nephew Ahmad, appeared in Jerusalem Magistrates Court on Monday morning.
They have since been detained in prison for another 24 hours and will have to serve five days of house arrest once released.
The prosecution demanded the men be held for a further eight days to allow police time to examine the books, but the judge decided they should only remain in prison until Tuesday.
A small group of protesters gathered outside holding signs such as “coward confiscate books” and “Palestinian books matter”.
Speaking following the hearing, their lawyer, Nasser Odeh, said: “We made it clear that this is a very dangerous and legally unprecedented move, forming part of a new policy adopted by the Israeli police in Jerusalem, which seeks to suppress freedom of speech and Palestinian intellectual life, preventing people from educating themselves and others.”
The bookshops, along with a third at The American Colony Hotel, are east Jerusalem cultural institutions, popular with locals, diplomats, foreign journalists and tourists.
Murad Muna, the brother of Mahmoud, said there was “no reason” to arrest them.
“The books we sell are international books, there is many books that are written by Israeli authors. There is no logical reason to arrest them.”
Mahmoud’s 11-year-old daughter was in the shop at the time. Her mother, Mahmoud’s wife, attended the court session along with at least a dozen diplomats.
“She saw everything, she was really shocked but we talked last night before bed and told her that everything will be fine, your Dad is strong and you don’t have to worry,” Mai Muna told Sky News.
“They took books with Palestinian flags, they even took a colouring book for kids.”
Germany’s Ambassador to Israel criticised the police actions, writing on X: “I, like many diplomats, enjoy browsing for books at Educational Bookshop. I know its owners, the Muna family, to be peace-loving proud Palestinian Jerusalemites, open for discussion and intellectual exchange.”
In a statement Jerusalem Police said their officers arrested the two men “suspected of selling books containing incitement and support for terrorism.”
Israeli police posted a picture on X of a colouring book titled From The River To The Sea.
The phrase is a reference to territory between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea – an area that today includes all of Israel.
It’s interpreted by many Israelis as an antisemitic statement calling for the elimination of the country, but Palestinian activists say it’s an aspirational call for human rights and peaceful co-existence.
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Police also raided another Palestinian-owned bookstore in east Jerusalem last week.
Most of Jerusalem‘s Palestinians live in the east of the city. The area was captured by Israel in 1967 – a move not recognised internationally – and Palestinians want it as the capital of a future state.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu opposes a two-state solution and has significant backing from Donald Trump.
The US president last week suggested moving Palestinians out of Gaza so the US can “own” and rebuild it following the devastation caused by the Gaza war.
The idea has been dismissed and derided by the vast majority of the international community.
