New raid on Palestinian bookshop in Jerusalem criticized
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.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Trump administration not participating in UN two-state solution conference
The State Department said Monday it would not participate in an initiative from France and Saudi Arabia at the United Nations supporting a two-state solution to the Israeli and Palestinian conflict, criticizing the summit as harmful to ceasefire efforts between Israel and Hamas. State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said the U.N. two-state solution conference is an 'ill-advised stunt that will further embolden Hamas and undermine our serious diplomatic efforts to end the war.' 'The United States will not participate in the July UN two-state solution conference,' Bruce wrote on social platform X. 'We will continue to work with partners towards a resolution.' President Trump has held back from endorsing long-standing U.S. policy supporting a two-state solution to end the Israeli and Palestinian conflict, which aims to establish a Palestinian state in the territories of the West Bank and Gaza Strip while preserving Israel's security. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has for decades pushed policies aimed at undermining the establishment of a Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza. During a meeting at the White House in July, Trump deferred to Netanyahu on whether the Israeli leader supports a two-state solution. Netanyahu answered that Palestinians could have self-government, but that Israel should maintain ultimate security control. Trump for the most part sides with Netanyahu and Israel, but the president has routinely shown he will act unilaterally on policies he views are in his interest. Trump has signaled he wants to be able to take credit for establishing ties between Israel and Saudi Arabia, but Riyadh's red line is no normalization with Israel absent a Palestinian state. Last week, Trump dispatched his ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, to meet with Palestinian Authority Vice President Hussein al-Sheikh. Part of negotiations to end the war between Israel and Hamas is finding an alternative governing body for the strip. While the Palestinian Authority is present in the strip, it is not viewed as the most credible actor or strongest political body to exercise control. And negotiations for a ceasefire to the war have stalled. The latest conflict began when Hamas launched a terrorist attack against Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing approximately 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages. The death toll in Gaza during the conflict is around 60,000 people, according to Gaza's Health Ministry, which doesn't distinguish between militants and civilians The Trump administration has put the blame on Hamas as being a barrier to peace, but international outrage over Israel's demolition of the Gaza Strip and the humanitarian crisis wrought on the Palestinians has isolated Jerusalem. Last week, French President Emanuel Macron announced that Paris would recognize a Palestinian state, a largely symbolic move but one that likely triggered alarm in Jerusalem over whether other major industrialized nations would follow suit and grant recognition of Palestinian statehood. Trump on Monday signaled a break with Netanyahu when he acknowledged there was 'real starvation' happening. Over the weekend, Israel announced it would open up additional humanitarian corridors to provide aide in Gaza, pause fighting to allow for distribution and carry out aid drops. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Solve the daily Crossword
UPI
an hour ago
- UPI
U.S. envoy airs plan as protesters demand return of hostages
1 of 3 | U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee visit Gaza on Friday as part of a fact-finding mission to see firsthand the operations of the U.S.-Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. Photo via U.S. Ambassador to Israel/UPI | License Photo Aug. 2 (UPI) -- The United States is demanding the release of 50 remaining hostages Hamas has held in Gaza since 2023, as protesters held a rally in Tel Aviv's "Hostage Square" on Saturday. U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff announced the United States has formulated a plan to return all of the remaining hostages, The Washington Post reported. President Donald Trump "now believes that everybody should come home at once, no piecemeal deals," Witkoff said during the meeting that was recorded and televised in Israel. He told the families that prior cease-fire agreements required exchanges of some hostages for Hamas prisoners being held in Israeli jails. "That doesn't work, and we've tried everything," Witkoff said about U.S. efforts to release hostages who were captured when the U.S.-designated terror organizations Hamas and Islamic Jihad attacked Israeli civilians without provocation on Oct. 7, 2023. The attackers killed about 1,200 Israelis and others, and kidnapped about 250 more. An estimated 30 of the remaining 50 hostages likely are dead, and Witkoff said U.S. officials want half of the remaining 20 hostages released on the first day of a cease-fire, followed by the rest shortly thereafter. Witkoff also said Hamas is ready to disarm and release hostages, but many of the families' representatives are concerned several of the living hostages would not be released if they are not among the first group to return to Israel. Hamas denied it is willing to lay down its arms and said it only would do so upon recognition of a Palestinian state, the BBC reported. Several officials in Arab states during the past week have called on Hamas to lay down its arms and end its control of Gaza. Witkoff met with representatives of about 40 of the hostages' families for two hours after attending a protest in Hostage Square earlier Saturday. The protest occurred after Hamas and Islamic Jihad earlier this week released video footage of hostages Rom Braslavski and Evyator David, along with images of starving Palestinian children, according to a CNN report. International pressure to end the war in Gaza has increased amid reports of Gazans being killed while seeking food at aid sites run by the U.S.-and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. The United Nations says at least 1,373 Gazans have been killed while trying to get food and other humanitarian aid since the GHF began distributing meals in late May. Hamas and others blame Israel for the deaths, but Israeli and GHF officials say Hamas is attacking aid workers and killing Gazans who seek aid that it cannot control.
The Hill
2 hours ago
- The Hill
Sunday shows preview: Trump economy reverberates amid tariff uncertainty
President Trump's economy reverberated this week amid tariff uncertainty, the weak job report on Friday and the subsequent firing of the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) commissioner, Erika McEntarfer. The Department of Labor (DOL) on Friday reported that the U.S. added just 73,000 jobs in July. Additionally, the job numbers for May and June were adjusted downward, cutting down the original tally by 258,000. The country added 19,000 jobs in May and 14,000 in June, far below the original reports After the dismal jobs report, Trump ordered McEntarfer to be fired, accusing her of manipulating previous reports and vowing to find a replacement that will be 'much more competent and qualified.' On Thursday, the White House also announced that tariffs on dozens of nations would be implemented on Aug. 7, sending further shockwaves through the global trading system. The import taxes will range from the baseline 10 percent to as high as 41 percent. Trump raised the tariff rate for Canada to 35 percent. The administration also announced trade deals with countries such as Indonesia, the Philippines and South Korea, along with the European Union and the United Kingdom this week. White House National Economic Advisor Kevin Hassett will appear on both NBC's 'Meet The Press' and Fox News' 'Fox News Sunday' where he will likely discuss the latest on the administration negotiations with other countries over tariff deals and weigh in on the latest jobs report. On the foreign policy front, Trump's Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff and the U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee visited an aid-distribution spot in the Gaza Strip on Friday, as international outrage over the humanitarian situation in the enclave continues. Witkoff and Huckabee will brief the president about the situation, according to the White House, as Trump earlier this week acknowledged there's 'real starvation' in Gaza, striking a different position than Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has denied those claims. Gaza Humanitarian Foundation Executive Chairman Johnnie Moore will be on Fox News' 'Fox News Sunday,' where he will likely discuss the current flow of aid into Gaza administered by the U.S.-backed organization and weigh in on reports of Israeli military firing at Gazans seeking food at the aid distribution sites. Those and others topics are likely to be discussed on the upcoming Sunday Shows: NewsNation's 'The Hill Sunday': Democratic National Committee Chairman Ken Martin ABC's 'This Week': Former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers; former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder and Doctors Without Borders USA CEO Avril Benoît. CNN's 'State of the Union': Colorado Gov. Jared Polis (D) and Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin. CBS' 'Face the Nation': New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham (D); U.S. trade representative Jamieson Greer; Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz; Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan and Canada's ambassador to the U.S. Kirsten Hillman. NBC's 'Meet the Press': White House national economic adviser Kevin Hassett and Sen. Alex Padilla (D). Fox News' 'Fox News Sunday': Hassett; Gaza Humanitarian Foundation executive chairman Johnnie Moore; father of co-pilot killed in DCA collision Tim Lilley and Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.).
