Thousands of books from Peterborough help bombed Gaza bookshop re-open

Around 5,000 books were collected from the book donation hub in Peteborough, and are now on the shelves of the newly rebuilt Samir Mansour Bookshop, with doors set to reopen on Thursday 17 February.

The Samir Mansour Bookshop was destroyed during the Gaza Conflict in May 2021. The new bookshop – which is three times larger – opens its doors on Thursday 17 February.

More than 150,000 books donated by the UK will be on sale, and circular economy bookseller, AwesomeBooks donated 25,000 books to the appeal.

Samir Mansour, Bookshop Founder, said: “I would like to thank all the people who stood by me and helped me get back on my feet. Today I am opening a better bookstore than before, thanks to their efforts. It was a huge shock to me when the library was destroyed, but today I feel so happy that the world stood by me and I am in a position to reopen the bookstore. It’s shown me that there’s something worth living this life for.

“I was initially afraid that the books would not arrive in time, but when the first batch arrived without any problems it gave me hope that everything would be fine. It was a very nice feeling when I saw the books in front of me. Today I thank everyone for their moral and material support. I salute the United Kingdom and all people around the world.”