Israeli police raid renowned Palestinian bookstores in occupied East Jerusalem
Israeli police raided two Palestinian bookstores in occupied east Jerusalem on Sunday, confiscating books and arresting one of the owners and his nephew, according to their family members.
CCTV footage shared by the owners, four brothers from the Muna family, shows police officers putting books in trash bags at one of the branches of the Educational Bookshop, a decades-old respected institution with Arabic- and English-language branches.
'They did throw some books on the ground but the Arabic (language) store is where the material damage was,' store owner Iyad Muna told CNN.
Photos shared by Muna of the Arabic-language store show books, notebooks and writing materials scattered on the ground.
The owner and his nephew were held overnight and will face a court hearing on Monday, one of the owners told CNN.
Representatives of diplomatic missions from the European Union, several EU member states, the United Kingdom and Brazil were present in court on Monday ahead of the hearing, according to a CNN journalist present.
Israeli police said in a statement Monday that two people were arrested on suspicion of 'selling books containing incitement and support for terrorism.'
'The suspects who allegedly sold the books were taken into custody by police detectives,' the police spokesperson's unit said.
Israeli police said that 'detectives encountered numerous books containing inciteful material with nationalist Palestinian themes' in the stores.
Among them was a children's coloring book titled 'From the River to the Sea.' The expression is politically controversial in Israel. Some Palestinians use the phrase in support of a homeland between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean, but many Jews regard it as a call for Israel's destruction.
The Educational Bookshop was established in 1984 on the central Salah el Dein street in East Jerusalem. The original branch sells Arabic books, while the English-language store opened years later is frequented by Palestinians, Israelis and foreigners alike.
The group 'The Time Has Come', which lobbies for peace between Jews and Palestinians, said the bookstore and its people 'are an important part of the shared future we envision for Jerusalem. The arrest and confiscation not only harm the right to free expression and the freedom of information but also place the city's future on the brink.'
Francesca Albanese, the UN Special Rapporteur for Palestinian Territories, said she was 'shocked by the raid' on the bookstores, which she called 'an intellectual lighthouse and family-run gem resisting Palestinian erasure under apartheid.'
Albanese also urged the international community in Jerusalem to 'show up, stand with the Muna family, and protect this vital hub.'
Correction: This article previously referred to 'The Time Has Come' group as 'Ad Kan.' The two groups are separate entities, and the comments in this article are those of 'The Time Has Come.'
CNN's Michael Schwartz contributed to this reporting.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
35 minutes ago
- Yahoo
US stock futures fall after Israel attacks Iran
(Reuters) -U.S. stock index futures dropped on Friday after Israel's military strike on Iran escalated tensions in the oil-rich Middle East and battered risk sentiment across global markets. Israel's widescale strikes against Iran's nuclear facilities were aimed at preventing Tehran from building an atomic weapon. Iran has promised a harsh response and retaliated by launching 100 drones. The escalation of tensions in the Middle East - a major oil-producing region - sent oil prices surging more than 6% and U.S. energy stocks rose in tandem, with Chevron and Exxon advancing nearly 3% in premarket trading. The strikes come just days ahead of a planned sixth round of nuclear talks between Iran and the United States. Tensions had been building as U.S. President Donald Trump's efforts to reach a nuclear deal with Iran appeared to be deadlocked. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio called the Israeli offensive a "unilateral action" and said Washington was not involved. At 04:32 a.m. ET, Dow E-minis were down 505 points, or 1.17%, S&P 500 E-minis were down 70.5 points, or 1.17%, and Nasdaq 100 E-minis were down 309.25 points, or 1.41%. A 1.6% slump in Russell futures pointed to sharp declines for domestically focused stocks. Airline stocks dipped as the surge in crude prices raised concerns about higher fuel costs. Delta Air Lines was down 3.9%, United Airlines dropped 4.8%, Southwest Airlines lost 2.5% and American Airlines declined 3.9%. Defense stocks rose, with Lockheed Martin up 4.7%, RTX Corporation up 5.5%, Northrop Grumman up 4.2% and L3harris Technologies up 4.3%. The S&P 500 still remains just 1.8% below its record high reached earlier this year, following stellar monthly gains in May driven by upbeat corporate earnings and a softening in Trump's trade stance. The tech-heavy Nasdaq is about 2.8% off its record closing high reached in December last year. Investors are now focused on the Federal Reserve's meeting scheduled next week where policymakers are expected to keep interest rates unchanged. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Indianapolis Star
41 minutes ago
- Indianapolis Star
Indiana University changes rule about overnight protests on campus
The Indiana University board of trustees voted to change a policy intended to tighten restrictions on campus protests after a federal judge found it was likely to violate the First Amendment. Nearly a year ago, IU's board passed its "expressive activity" policy to ban overnight camping and the use of unapproved structures in response to a pro-Palestinian solidarity encampment that stood on campus for months during the spring 2024 semester. Violators faced a range of possible disciplinary actions, including suspension, expulsion, loss of university employment and a responsibility to pay for damages. However, the policy was paused after a judge ruled two weeks ago that it likely violates the campus community's First Amendment rights. Time, place and manner restrictions on free expression are legal as long as they are narrowly tailored; the judge's order said IU's policy was not. During its June 12 meeting, the board unanimously agreed to end the prohibition on overnight protesting and other expressive activities. It also added language saying the policy should be "interpreted in favor of free speech rights." While the overnight restriction is removed, protests stretching after hours, like the pro-Palestinian encampment, may still prove difficult. Camping is not permitted, and protesters must still obtain prior approval for structures. The trustees voted to amend the policy at their June 12 meeting without explicitly detailing the changes before the vote. The policy was updated online about 15 minutes after the vote. General Counsel Anthony Prather said he and other administrators were evaluating changes to the policy prior to the court's decision. The new version is a combination of stakeholder feedback and takeaways from the preliminary injunction, he said. Newly sworn-in trustee James Bopp Jr., a longtime conservative First Amendment lawyer, said he agreed that the previous policy overstepped constitutional rights. The new version, he said, adequately weighs guardrails and rights to on-campus speech. "This issue, not only in my general practice but for the purposes of the university, is of critical importance that we get this right," Bopp said. "I really want to compliment the general counsel, in my opinion, as having done that now." Trustees were also set to discuss resident undergraduate tuition, the budget and President Pamela Whitten's compensation during the June 12 meeting. Last year, trustees crafted an update to IU's "expressive activities" policy after a Dunn Meadow encampment resulted in several clashes with police and dozens of arrests. The university fenced off the area last school year to make pricey repairs it said the encampment caused. Three of the nine trustees voted against it during its initial passage last summer. Indiana Gov. Mike Braun has since removed three of the board's members, including two of the dissenting trustees, under his new appointment powers, codified last legislative session. The campus community widely decried the policy as unconstitutional, and protesters staged midnight candlelight vigils throughout the fall 2024 semester to test and challenge IU's enforcement of the policy. The Indiana Chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit challenging the policy on First Amendment grounds last August, which resulted in the policy's temporary halt this May. The USA TODAY Network - Indiana's coverage of First Amendment issues is funded through a collaboration between the Freedom Forum and Journalism Funding Partners.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
China expresses deep concern about Israel's attacks on Iran, urges de-escalation
BEIJING (Reuters) -China was deeply concerned about the Israeli attacks on Iran and urged de-escalation for regional peace and stability, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson said on Friday. "China opposes any infringement upon Iran's sovereignty, security and territorial integrity, and opposes any escalation of tensions and expansion of conflicts. A sudden rise in regional tensions is not in the interests of any party," Spokesperson Lin Jian told a regular press briefing. Lin also said China was ready to play a constructive role in easing the situation. Israel launched large-scale strikes against Iran on Friday, saying it was the start of a prolonged operation to prevent Tehran from building an atomic weapon. Iran promised a harsh response with Israel saying it was working to intercept about 100 drones launched towards its territory. Beijing and Tehran share friendly ties, supported by China's search for energy security through Iran's oil shipments and a wider strategy of increasing influence across the Middle East to rival the United States. Earlier on Friday, the Chinese embassies in Israel and Iran issued advisories to citizens warning of the "complex and severe" security situation in the two countries. The embassy in Tel Aviv also warned those in Israel to prepare for possible missile, rocket and drone attacks.
