An Israeli police raid on a well-known chain of Palestinian bookshops in occupied East Jerusalem and the detention of their owners has shocked many people in the city's cultural, journalistic and diplomatic communities,

The police said the stores were selling books that supported terrorism and that two members of the family who owned the business had been arrested. A lawyer said their detention was “political” rather than legal.

Israeli police raided the Educational Bookshop on Sunday and arrested its owners on charges of “disturbing public order,” a move met with outcry by diplomats.