Police say raid of East Jerusalem bookshop came after caller reported ‘inciting content’ in books

After police raided a prominent East Jerusalem bookshop earlier today for the second time in as many months, a spokesperson for the law enforcement body says that they did so after receiving a report from a caller who said he had seen “books containing inciting content” while browsing the shelves.

“Upon arrival at the scene, officers seized three books and temporarily detained an individual present at the location to verify his identity and the details of the store,” the police spokesperson says.

The spokesperson adds that police are receiving the confiscated books and weighing whether to “refer the matter to the State Attorney’s Office for further investigation into the suspected sale of inciting materials.”

The Educational Bookshop co-owner Mahmoud Muna told the Times of Israel earlier today that police had arrested his older brother Imad, who manages the store. He said that police did not present them with a court-issued search warrant.

Police detained Mahmoud and his nephew Ahmad last month after conducting a raid on the bookshop, accusing them of incitement and drawing protests from several diplomats and other figures in Jerusalem’s cultural scene.