LONDON: The Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates on Sunday condemned an attack on a Christian abbot by Jewish extremists in Jerusalem’s old city on Saturday.
In a video that circulated on social media, Abbot Nikodemus Schnabel was insulted and spat at by two Israeli extremists who also swore at Jesus Christ.
The two men have since been detained and placed under house arrest pending further investigation, the Times of Israel reported.
“An attack by Jewish extremists and spitting on a monk in Jerusalem is a translation of a racist colonial culture and the incitement of (Itamar) Ben Gvir and (Bezalel) Smotrich,” the ministry said.
“The ministry believes that the settler militias’ sense of political and legal protection encourages them to persist in sowing seeds of hatred, igniting fires in the arena of the conflict, and practicing the most heinous crimes and provocative attacks against Palestinian citizens and followers of other religions,” it added.
Israel’s Foreign Minister Israel Katz also condemned the attack, calling it “another ugly incident.” He said he “utterly condemns these ugly acts against members of other faiths.”
Germany’s ambassador to Israel Steffen Seibert denounced the behavior of the two Israeli men as “appalling.”
He continued: “What really makes me furious are those who teach them that Judaism means despising Christians or any other religion. This must stop.”
Schnabel, the Abbot of the Abbey of the Dormition in Jerusalem and the Tabgha Priory in northeast Israel, confirmed on social media platform X that circulating videos of him being attacked are authentic.
“They show a part of the reality of my life that’s rarely filmed. I’ve not sought publicity with them, as there are much more terrible things that people have to suffer here. Let’s pray for peace and reconciliation,” the German abbot said.
