Latest news with #ImadMuna
The Guardian
11-03-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Israeli police raid Palestinian bookshop in East Jerusalem twice in a month
Israeli police have raided the leading Palestinian bookshop in East Jerusalem for the second time in a month, detaining one of its owners for several hours and seizing some of its stock. The deputy state attorney's office had warned police that they overstepped their authority with the first raid on the shop in February. Officers again arrived at the Educational Bookshop without a warrant on Tuesday morning, staff said. They searched stock using Google Translate, confiscated about 50 books and arrested one of the owners, 61-year-old Imad Muna, his brother Morad Muna told the Guardian. 'They chose books by the cover, taking books that had a Palestinian flag, or just the word Palestine in the title,' Muna said. 'They were using Google Translate and took photos to send to their bosses.' The confiscated books included titles on the work of British artist Banksy, and others by the Israeli historian Ilan Pappé and the US academic Noam Chomsky. After taking them, the police locked the shop and left with the key, taking Imad Muna to a nearby police station before releasing him without charge in the afternoon. In February, Imad's son Ahmed Muna, 33, and another brother, Mahmoud Muna, 41, were detained for two days, then held under house arrest for five days, but have not been charged. Police cited a children's colouring book as evidence of incitement to terrorism in the shop. Rights groups and leading authors, intellectuals and diplomats warned at the time that targeting the shop appeared designed to create a 'culture of fear' among Palestinians. All prosecutions relating to freedom of speech have to be approved by the attorney general's office. However, police had not sought permission to open an investigation, search the Educational Bookstore or detain its staff. After the February arrests, prosecutors met police officers to ensure 'such incidents don't happen again', the office of the deputy state attorney said in a letter to the Association for Civil Rights in Israel about the case. Police said they made the second raid after getting a complaint from a man who visited the bookstore on Tuesday morning. The man 'stated that he had observed books containing inciting content', a police spokesperson said in a statement. Officers detained Imad Muna 'to verify his identity and details of the store', the statement said, and are now reviewing three books seized at the store. 'Based on the findings, a determination will be made on whether to refer the matter to the state attorney's office for further investigation into the suspected sale of inciting materials,' the statement said. After Muna was freed on Tuesday afternoon, most books were returned and the shop reopened. The family-owned Educational Bookshop has been at the heart of cultural life in Jerusalem for more than four decades. Its broad collection of books by Palestinian, Israeli and international authors is popular with residents and tourists, and its cafe hosts regular literary events, including recently the launch of the Pulitzer prize-winning nonfiction book A Day in the Life of Abed Salama by Nathan Thrall.
Yahoo
11-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
New raid on Palestinian bookshop in Jerusalem criticized
A Palestinian bookshop in the Arab-dominated eastern part of Jerusalem has been raided by police again. The owner, Imad Muna, has been arrested, the Palestinian news agency WAFA reported on Tuesday. In February, Muna said his sons Ahmed and Mahmoud were temporarily detained in the bookshop. Citing the family, several Israeli media outlets reported that the police did not present a court-issued search warrant during their latest raid on the Educational Bookshop. According to eyewitnesses and the Palestinian media, the police confiscated dozens of books. As in February, there was criticism of the latest incident from Germany. "What are the legal grounds for this new raid? And what purpose does it serve to keep detaining Palestinian booksellers who are the embodiment of peaceful dialogue?" the German ambassador to Israel, Steffen Seibert, wrote on the X platform. The head of the German representative office in Ramallah, Oliver Owcza, also expressed concern about "another police raid" in the bookstore. This had also led to "the confiscation of international literature." After the search in February, a police spokesperson said that the booksellers were suspected of "selling books with inflammatory content and supporting terrorism." According to Israeli media reports, the two booksellers were released after two days. The bookshop specializes in Palestinian culture and history, as well as the Palestinian perspective on the conflict with Israel.
Middle East Eye
11-03-2025
- Politics
- Middle East Eye
Israeli forces again storm prominent Palestinian bookshop in Jerusalem
Israeli forces stormed the Educational Bookshop near the Old City in occupied East Jerusalem on Tuesday. Local reports said they detained Imad Muna, the Palestinian owner of the library situated in Salahuddin Street, close to Al-Aqsa Mosque, and took him for questioning. Nasser Awda, a lawyer representing Muna, told the Arab48 news outlet that Israeli forces caused significant damage to the library's contents, seized several books, took the premises' keys and shut the place down without any judicial order or legal justification. 'They also removed people who had gathered in front of the library after the raid," he said. This assault comes a month after the Israeli police's previous storming of two of the three branches of the Educational Bookshop, on 10 February. New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters During that raid, two of the shops' owners, Mahmoud Muna and his nephew Ahmed, were arrested on charges of "selling inciting books" The court released them the following day, though the prosecution requested an extension of their detention for eight more days. At the time, the raid was condemned by the Palestinian National Library as a 'dangerous escalation targeting the Palestinian cultural and intellectual landscape'. Israel raids beloved Palestinian bookstores and detains owners Read More » The Educational Bookshop has been a significant cultural centre for almost 40 years, catering to diplomats, journalists, tourists and researchers alike. In 2011, it was recognised as the best library in Palestine. The Palestinian National Library said in February that the assault on the bookshop was 'part of a systematic policy aimed at destroying the Palestinian cultural and educational infrastructure in Jerusalem,' according to official news agency Wafa. The statement also highlighted that the Israeli aim was to enforce censorship on Palestinian intellectual output by criminalising the possession of books that represent Palestinian national identity, including children's books and historical references. 'It is an assault on the Palestinian right to knowledge and education,' said the statement. Several foreign governments also condemend the raid and arrests. The European Union delegation "expressed deep concern at the Israeli police raid [...] and the arrests" in a statement on X, while the French consulate in Jerusalem denounced "a blatant attack [...] against basic democratic values".
