Israeli security forces have arrested the owner of a bookstore in Yerushalayim’s Old City on suspicion of distributing materials that incite terrorism, including works by senior Hezbollah and Hamas leaders.

The arrest followed a routine search by police officers, who discovered pro-terror content in the bag of a female suspect in the Old City. Upon questioning, she claimed to have recently purchased the materials from a nearby bookstore. Investigators from the Israel Police’s David Precinct subsequently raided the shop, uncovering a collection of books containing “inciting and terrorist content, the sale and distribution of which is prohibited,” according to the police statement.

Among the banned materials found in the bookstore were writings attributed to Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar. Additionally, authorities found publications by Abdullah Barghouti, a Palestinian bombmaker responsible for attacks that killed 66 people.

The bookstore’s owner, a resident of the Old City, was taken into custody, and officials issued a 30-day closure order for the shop.

The crackdown on incitement comes amid a significant increase in terror-related arrests and indictments. According to Hebrew media reports, Israeli security forces have filed 303 indictments for online terror incitement in Yehuda and Shomron in 2024—far exceeding the annual average of 60 to 70 cases before October 7, 2023.

For comparison, during the peak of the 2015 “Knife Intifada,” when a wave of stabbing attacks targeted Israelis, only 150 indictments for online terror incitement were filed, according to Ynet.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)