JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli authorities conducted a raid on a well-established Palestinian bookstore in East Jerusalem, resulting in the detention of its owners and the seizure of literature pertaining to the longstanding conflict. The police alleged that the materials incited violence.

The Educational Bookshop, a cultural landmark for over four decades, serves as a center for intellectual discourse in East Jerusalem, which Israel captured during the 1967 Middle East war and subsequently annexed—a move lacking international recognition. This area is home to a significant portion of the city’s Palestinian population, who aspire for it to be the capital of their future state.

The three-story bookstore, which was raided on Sunday, offers an extensive array of books primarily in Arabic and English that focus on the conflict and the broader Middle Eastern landscape, including many works by Israeli and Jewish authors. It is known for hosting cultural events and enjoys popularity among academics, journalists, and international diplomats.

The owners, Ahmed and Mahmoud Muna, were taken into custody, and police confiscated hundreds of titles relevant to the conflict before ordering the shop to close, as reported by May Muna, Mahmoud’s spouse.

She noted that the authorities targeted books featuring Palestinian titles or flags, “often without understanding their significance.” May explained that some of the Arabic titles were translated using Google Translate by the police before being packed away in plastic bags.

According to the police, the two owners were arrested under suspicion of “selling books that contain incitement and support for terrorism.”

As an example, the police pointed to an English-language children’s coloring book titled “From the River to the Sea,”, which references the land between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea, an area that encompasses modern-day Israel, the occupied West Bank, and the Gaza Strip.

The Muna brothers appeared in a Jerusalem court on Monday. A spokesperson for the Israeli police, Dean Elsdunne, stated that a judge from the Jerusalem District Court rejected the brothers’ appeal, and they would remain in custody for at least another night while further investigations take place. Elsdunne emphasized that the books, particularly those intended for children, posed a “clear danger” to the public.

Just a week prior, Israeli police had raided another Palestinian-owned bookstore in the Old City of East Jerusalem.

Both Palestinians and hardline Israelis view the entire region as their national homeland. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whose administration is against Palestinian statehood, has asserted that Israel must retain indefinite control over all the territory west of the Jordan.

In recent months, tensions between Israelis and Palestinians have escalated, particularly following Hamas’ attack from Gaza on October 7, 2023, which led to an ongoing war. A temporary ceasefire has allowed for the release of several Israeli hostages taken during the assault, along with hundreds of Palestinians detained in Israel. Tensions have also intensified within the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

In the October 7 attack, Hamas militants killed approximately 1,200 individuals, predominantly civilians, and abducted around 250 people. Israel’s retaliatory actions in the Gaza Strip have resulted in over 47,000 Palestinian deaths, with more than half being women and children, according to figures from Gaza’s Health Ministry, which does not clarify how many of the deceased were combatants. Conversely, Israel asserts that it has eliminated over 17,000 militants, although it has not provided supporting evidence.

Israel gained control over the West Bank, Gaza, and East Jerusalem during the 1967 Middle East war, and Palestinians seek all three territories for their prospective state. The most recent significant peace negotiations collapsed after Netanyahu resumed office in 2009.

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Melzer reported from Nahariya, Israel.

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