Israeli publication cancels Charlie Hebdo sale

A major Israeli publication has reportedly decided not to offer the copies of blasphemous French journal Charlie Hebdo on its stands in fear of possible reaction from Muslims, Qods News Agency reports.

Steimatzky has announced it would sell the first edition of the siliceous material however it changed its decision and said the copies are only available online.

Israel Radio on Sunday quoted the publication as saying in a statement that it has canceled an event by its store in a mall outside Tel Aviv at which the first issue would have been sold.

A Muslim member of the Israeli parliament, Masud Ganaim, has strongly protested the planned sale in Israel of the edition that carried a cartoon that insults the Last messenger of Allah, Hazrat Mohammed.

In a letter to the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, he slammed the planned sale as a dangerous and stupid step and warned of unrest by Muslims in Israel.