After raid, Israel puts Jerusalem bookshop owners under house arrest: What to know
Israeli police raided the Educational Bookshop on Sunday and arrested its owners on charges of “disturbing public order,” a move met with outcry by diplomats.
The owners of a well-known east Jerusalem bookstore were released for house arrest on Tuesday following their arrest and a police raid of the establishment.
What happened: On Sunday, Israeli police raided the 40-year-old Jerusalem's Educational Bookshop and arrested Palestinian bookseller Mahmoud Muna and his nephew Ahmad Muna. Police confiscated dozens of books, including a children's coloring book titled “From the River to the Sea,” which Israeli authorities pointed to as an example of inciting violence.
שוטרי מחוז ירושלים עצרו שני תושבי מזרח העיר שלפי החשד מכרו ספרים המכילים תכני הסתה ותמיכה בטרור בחנויות ספרים, ובהם חוברת צביעה לילדים "מהירדן לים" pic.twitter.com/e23s4GfO6x
— משטרת ישראל (@IL_police) February 10, 2025
Mahmoud’s brother told Haaretz on Monday that police took dozens of books: “They used Google Translate on the books, and anything they didn’t like, they took. ... They took every book with a Palestinian flag on it,” he said.
On Monday, the two appeared in a Jerusalem court, where their lawyer’s appeal was denied and the judge ruled to extend their detention until Tuesday. During the hearing, the police representative said that police had identified eight books that met the requirements for incitement.
Mahmoud and Ahmad were held in West Jerusalem’s Russian Compound, an interrogation facility and detention center, until their release on Tuesday morning, which will be followed by five days of house arrest. Mahmoud and Ahmad are barred from entering their bookstore — or any of its smaller branches — for 20 days.
Upon his release, Ahmad Muna told the Times of Israel that the arrest was “brutal.”
Background: The store specializes in books in Arabic and English about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and Middle Eastern culture, and it regularly hosts cultural events.
The pair were originally suspected of “inciting and supporting terrorism,” but their arrest was ultimately on suspicion of “disturbing public order” — the former charge requires prior approval from the state prosecutor’s office, according to the Munas' attorney, Nasser Odeh. Israeli police spokesperson Dean Elsdunne said the books posed “clear danger” to the public.
The bookstore serves a primarily international audience, many of whom are journalists, researchers, diplomats and expats, and has been known as a place where divisive issues can be discussed peacefully.
Reactions: Germany’s ambassador to Israel, Steffen Seibert, expressed concern in a post to X on Monday, saying, “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.”
France’s consulate in Jerusalem expressed similar sentiment and posted a photo of a group of diplomats from various European countries outside of the Jerusalem court, where Ahmad and Mahmoud’s hearing took place. “This raid is an attack against freedom of expression,” the post read.
Attending today’s court hearing, 🇧🇪 🇪🇺 🇫🇷 🇮🇪 🇳🇱 🇸🇪 🇨🇭 🇬🇧, joined by 🇫🇮 🇮🇹, expressed deep concern at the Israeli police raid against the @Edu_Bookshop in East Jerusalem and the arrests of their employees, Ahmad and Mahmoud Muna. This raid is an attack against freedom of… pic.twitter.com/jMUHK8OWEn
— France à Jérusalem 🇫🇷 🇪🇺 (@FranceJerusalem) February 10, 2025
Following the hearing on Monday, Nasser Odeh told reporters that the arrest is part of a policy in Jerusalem “to suppress freedom of expression and Palestinian thought."
