A complaint from an Israeli was the reason behind the raid on the Educational Bookshop and the arrest of its owner
For the second time in a month, occupation forces raided the Educational Bookshop on Salah al-Din Street in Jerusalem, arrested its owner, and confiscated several books on the grounds that they contained "incitement content."
In an interview conducted by the Wadi Hilweh Information Center in Jerusalem with the owner, Imad Mona, after his release, he explained that the reason for the raid was a complaint filed by an Israeli who had come to the bookshop in the morning as a visitor to view the books. He then photographed the books before heading to the police station on Salah al-Din Street to file a complaint alleging that the books in the bookshop contained incitement content.
The occupation forces raided Imad Mona's bookshop on Salah al-Din Street, searched the books and examined their contents, and confiscated approximately 40 books. They arrested the owner, before closing the door and confiscating the keys. Imad Mona explained that after his lawyer arrived at the detention center, it was discovered that the reason for his arrest was a complaint filed by an Israeli individual regarding the presence of inflammatory books in the bookshop, based on photographs of the book covers. He added that the lawyer informed the police that the same bookshop had previously been raided and several books confiscated under the same pretext. The lawyer emphasized that he refused to repeat the incident.
Imad Mona said he was released without investigation, and all but three of the books were returned to him, including "Israel and the Clash of Civilizations" and "Fatah and the First Intifada," under the pretext of examining them.
Mona confirmed that all the books in the bookshop are published by international publishing houses and do not contain any inciting material.
Mona added that the previous raid on the bookshop may have prompted the Israeli person today to enter the bookshop and photograph the books, believing the goal was to “keep to an eye on us" as he put it. He indicated that he does not rule out further raids on the bookshop under the same pretext.
On February 9, the occupation authorities raided the branches of the Educational Bookshop in Jerusalem, searching the books, contents, and storage, and translating numerous books, newspapers, and research papers using Google Translate. They also arrested two of the bookshop owners, Mahmoud Mona and Ahmed Mona, for a day before releasing them on condition of five days of house arrest. On February 2, Israeli occupation forces raided the Al-Quds Bookshop in the Khan al-Zeit market in the Old City of Jerusalem, searched and vandalized its contents. They then arrested the owner and closed the bookshop for 30 days, posting the closure notice on the door. Police claimed in their statements that the bookshop sells books containing inflammatory content.
