Overview
- Surveillance video shows a 48-year-old French Catholic nun shoved to the ground and kicked near the Cenacle on Mount Zion, with an Israeli tourist stepping in to stop the attack Tuesday.
- Israel Police arrested a 36-year-old suspect Wednesday and said they are probing all possible motives, including a nationalist or racist motive, with a request to extend his detention expected.
- French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said Saturday he spoke with the victim and called the assault an odious act while urging an exemplary sanction.
- The Israeli Foreign Ministry condemned the attack and pledged to protect freedom of worship, and police released the footage as AP noted the assailant in the video wore tzitzit, a Jewish ritual fringe.
- The nun suffered minor injuries and remains shaken, and universities, diplomats, and NGOs report a marked rise in anti-Christian incidents in Jerusalem, with recent counts documenting dozens this year.