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00:00Israeli police have raided two branches of Palestinian owned bookshops in occupied East Jerusalem and arrested the owners on
00:07Suspicion they said of violating public order. They cited a children's coloring book as evidence of incitement to terrorism
00:13Any publication with the Palestinian flag or any Palestinian icon was seized for examination a clear attack rights group say on
00:20Palestinian cultural identity the arrests were of two people who were well-known and have diplomatic connections in Israel Antonio Kerrigan tells us more
00:30Run by Mahmoud and Ahmed Muna the educational bookshops had become hubs in East Jerusalem's cultural and intellectual scene and
00:38On Sunday the shops were raided
00:40Police confiscated a number of books and arrested the two owners on suspicion of selling texts containing quote
00:47incitement and support of terrorism
00:49Yesterday we had been sitting here and we saw two cars police
00:54With civilian and they came
00:56Attacked the two library shops one for English books
01:00and the other one is for our book the shop sell literature on the Middle East on the conflict between Israel and Palestine and
01:07Reflections on peace in the region including many titles by Israeli and Jewish authors
01:13The brother of one of the owners said police were using Google Translate to identify which of the Arabic titles to confiscate
01:20They took the books which have the Palestinian flags
01:24This was the title they saw on the Harrods newspaper they saw the
01:30The head article there and they said oh you sell dangerous things
01:34The two men's charges have since been downgraded to disturbing public order their arraignment hearing on Monday attracted a protest
01:42outside the courtroom and on the inside
01:45Diplomatic representatives of the UK France the EU and Brazil among others attended the hearing
01:51The German ambassador to Israel took to X in support of the shop's owners
01:56I know its owners the Munna family to be peace-loving proud Palestinian Jerusalemites
02:03Open for discussion and intellectual exchange the Munna family at their arraignment on Monday
02:08The court authorized the police to hold them one more day rather than the eight days they requested
02:14We can speak now to Arab Israeli lawmaker representing the left-wing Democratic Front for peace and equality
02:21In the Knesset miss Ida Tuman Sleeman, thanks so much for joining us here on France 24
02:27Can I ask you firstly your reaction to?
02:30That raid on the Palestinian owned bookshops in Jerusalem. What do you think prompted that?
02:37Good morning first, thank you for having me. I think that this is part of the different repression
02:45actions that has been taken
02:48Action in the last year and three months
02:52by this
02:54Government and its agencies the Israeli government this time. It's it's becoming like a peak
03:01attacking a
03:02book store
03:04Because of selling books that are published
03:08Legally that are owned legally that are brought to the country through
03:13The ports and the taxes and everything is covered. I think it's becoming a kind of
03:23An attack on any symbol of a Palestinian identity or a
03:30sign of a Palestinian identity
03:33It doesn't matter which kind of people are having this
03:38a
03:39sign of identity if they are calling for peaceful
03:46Preservation of their identity or whatsoever
03:49Is this bookshop raid, you know part of a wider problem? Have there been other instances of this in in Jerusalem in the wider area?
03:58Well, there are different
04:01Actions taken in in Jerusalem whenever there is an activity
04:08the army
04:10If it is a cultural activity or even a kind of political gathering
04:16the army and the police
04:19Raid the place they give orders not to hold any
04:24Meeting or cultural activity and this is not a new but this time it's it's over any
04:32understanding to
04:34Raid a bookstore and to call the people who are selling books, you know, the the huge
04:43Felony that they are doing is selling books. This is
04:48Gets us to think about you know, the Middle East
04:53sorry, the
04:56Mid-ages when they used to burn
05:00People and books because of the ideas they have
05:04It does sound like a whole new level now. I know when the war with Gaza broke out
05:10You did try to organize anti-war protests and it wasn't just Arab Israelis that were taking part in those protests
05:17I was interested to know the reaction to those I believe there was quite a crackdown on them and want to know do you feel
05:23there's a
05:24Significant percentage of the Israeli people from all walks of life that are anti the war
05:31Well
05:32It's not only in the beginning of the war till two weeks ago. We tried to organize another
05:40demonstration in one of the
05:42Arab towns and we were forbidden
05:46by an order of the police
05:47The police is not allowing any political gathering or demonstration and our villages and towns
05:54that are relating to
05:58Or
06:00anti-war
06:01Reactions even showing and a movie
06:06We were forbidden to do it a movie by
06:10the producer
06:13Bakri they did not allow it. They gave an order to close down the building where
06:20this
06:22Movie should have been seen the screen
06:27This situation, I mean that's true that most of the people in
06:33Israel nowadays are as
06:36Understand that in order to bring the hostages the captives
06:41Back home. They need to stop the war, but you you have also
06:48To understand that some of those who are calling now for ceasefire in order to get the
06:56Hostages do not mind that the war continues
07:00After the Israeli hostages are home we on the other side
07:05We are against the war as a principle
07:08We do not accept the fact that there is no way to have any solution to this situation
07:16except a political negotiated solution that is accepted by two
07:23Parts for our regret we have been witnessing in the last two weeks
07:29What the United States of America president has been saying and what he has said yesterday
07:37about
07:39the hostages and giving orders
07:42Otherwise, he will start hell in the in the region is not helping in any way
07:49This is the least that we can say he is acting as if he is
07:56In the
07:59He is acting in a very
08:02let's say a
08:06Imperialist way he think he owned the region. He is able to
08:13Compensate Netanyahu on behalf of the Palestinian people and it is terrible
08:20Netanyahu has been leading not only the Palestinian people to a disaster
08:26but mainly the Israeli people into disaster and instead of
08:32being part of
08:35Negotiated solution Trump is only pushing for more and more disasters
08:42Ms. Aida Tooma Sleeman, I'm being told we'll have to leave it at that there
08:45We're out of time, but thank you so much for joining us and giving us your view of the situation very much appreciated
08:51Thank you