Christian leaders slam ‘despicable’ Israeli assault on French nun in occupied al-Quds

Condemnations pour following an assault by an extremist Israeli settler on a French nun, as attacks on Christian and Muslim clergy and holy sites are on the rise across the occupied territories.

Bishop William Shomali, the vicar general of the Latin Patriarchate in al-Quds, said on Friday that he had watched video footage of the incident, describing it as “painful, alarming and extremely serious.”

“The nun is physically frail. The attacker shoved her forcefully from behind, causing her to fall to the ground after her head struck a raised stone tile. He then returned and stepped on her. A young Israeli man of Russian origin intervened and pulled him away, though his identity is unknown,” he added.

Shomali warned that “the use of the word ‘death’ is repeated in some slogans used by Israeli extremists.”

He stressed “the need to re-educate those who hold racist ideologies.”

Shomali said, “The way the nun fell could have led to her death, especially as she was pushed violently from behind.”

“The attacker returning to kick her after she was already injured makes the crime even more severe. This is a despicable act,” he said.

On the arrest of the attacker, he said police “did not respond quickly in previous similar incidents.

Also on Friday, Archbishop Atallah Hanna, head of the Sebastia of the Greek Orthodox Church in al-Quds, warned that such incidents "reflect growing concerns over the future of the Christian presence in the occupied Holy Land."

Hanna said in a social media post that “the attack on a nun in the city of al-Quds comes amid escalating violations against Christian institutions in the city.”

In the post, he warned that such attacks “are no longer isolated incidents, but part of a recurring pattern that threatens the Christian presence.”

He also called for international action to stop the Israeli violence.

Separately, Israel's former ambassador to India Daniel Carmon, described the attack by an Israeli extremist settler on the French nun as “Jewish terrorism.”

"A nun, peacefully walking in a Jerusalem (al-Quds) street, is identified as a non-Jew, pushed, shoved, and thrown to the ground, and later kicked by the same perpetrator,” Carmon wrote on X.

“If this is not Jewish Terrorism, then what is?” he questioned.

The French consulate in al-Quds earlier said Paris “strongly condemns the attack against a French nun,” adding: “We are closely monitoring her health condition and call for the perpetrator to be brought to justice.”

On Wednesday, a 36-year-old Israeli man was arrested after assaulting a nun in the occupied East al-Quds.

Israeli police, who have been criticized for not acting in previous similar cases, released an image on Wednesday showing the nun with a head injury.

The nun reportedly works at the French Biblical and Archaeological School.

Hundreds of clergy and nuns from around the world serve in churches and religious institutions in East al-Quds.

Recent years have seen a noticeable rise in attacks by Zionist settlers on Muslim and Christian clergy and on holy sites in the occupied East al-Quds.

The attack follows a video last month showing an Israeli soldier taking a sledgehammer to a statue of Jesus, in a widely condemned incident.

Church leaders have repeatedly called on Israeli authorities to act decisively to stop such attacks.

The assault comes as violence by Israeli forces and occupiers in the occupied West Bank since October 2023 has killed at least 1,155 Palestinians, wounded around 11,750, and led to the arrest of about 22,000 others.

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