Nun shoved to ground and kicked in horror assault near King David's Tomb in Jerusalem

A nun was has been left with bruising after she was assaulted in Jerusalem, with religious leaders condemning the incident as a "racist attack".

The woman was pushed over and kicked on Tuesday near King David’s Tomb, outside the walls of the Old City in Israeli-occupied East Jerusalem.

The 48-year-old Christian was shoved to the ground, where she landed face-first onto a rock before being kicked repeatedly - suffering bruising to her face, according to reports.

A 36-year-old man has since been arrested in relation to the attack on suspicion of racially motivated assault.

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Israel's Foreign Ministry condemned the attack, and extended sympathies to the victim - a researcher at Jerusalem’s French School of Biblical and Archaeological Research.

Further condemnation of the incident came from Father Olivier Poquillon, director of the school, who wrote on X that she was the "victim of an unprovoked assault".

He wrote: "We strongly condemn this act of sectarian violence and expect the authorities to act swiftly and decisively."

The French Consulate in Jerusalem also condemned the attack and called for the attacker to face consequences.

The Vatican shared concern over the attack, described by Church officials as setting a "serious and dangerous precedent".

The suspect was arrested by Israeli police officers on Wednesday, with a video released of him being handcuffed by officers.

CCTV footage also shared by police depicts the woman, dressed in a traditional grey habit, being attacked in broad daylight by the attacker, adorned in a Jewish kippah and tzitzit.

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In a social media statement, the police said they treat "any attack on members of the clergy and religious communities with the utmost seriousness and applies a policy of zero tolerance to all acts of violence".

A photograph of the nun was also published, showing the bruising she received to her face.

The assault comes amid a recent rise in harassment of Christian clergy and pilgrims by Jewish extremists in Jerusalem's Old City and across Israel.

One incident last month saw the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, blocked from performing Palm Sunday Mass at a church in Jerusalem.

Another incident saw an Israeli soldier desecrating a statue of Jesus with a sledgehammer in a Christian neighbourhood of southern Lebanon, leading to a condemnation of the Israel Defence Forces from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Jerusalem's Old City has seen regular cases of religious Jews spitting and acting aggressively towards those wearing Christian religious dress or symbols.

Church properties have been vandalised amid bitter disputes, with Church leaders accusing Israel of trying to change long-standing agreements on ownership at holy sites.

Israel's Foreign Ministry wrote on X: "This shameful act stands in direct contradiction to the values of respect, coexistence, and religious freedom upon which Israel is founded and to which it remains deeply committed.

"Israel remains firmly committed to safeguarding freedom of religion and freedom of worship for all faiths, and to ensuring that Jerusalem remains a city where every community can live, pray, and practice its faith in safety and dignity."

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