JerusalemAttack — A still image from the Jerusalem attack video

International Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem Attack in Jerusalem

Police Arrest Six Jewish Extremists after Attack on St. James Monastery in Jerusalem

August 3, 2026

by

The Armenian Mirror-Spectator

156

JERUSALEM (Times of Israel/WAFA) — Six religious Jews — five minors and one adult — were arrested on Sunday, August 2, after banging and spitting on the entrance to the St. James Monastery in the Old City of Jerusalem’s Armenian Quarter, police said.

The six also threw stones at the wall of the compound, which is the headquarters of the Armenian Church in the region and the home of its top local cleric.

According to an Armenian journalist, the suspects saw an Armenian woman filming them, and yelled at her, “Get back inside, you daughter of a whore!”

Video of the incident showed one suspect hurling stones, reportedly at the woman filming them.

“Upon receiving the report, officers from the David Precinct were dispatched to the scene and launched extensive searches, assisted by Mabat 2000 observation center officers,” the Israel Police said in a statement.

Three of the attackers were barred from the Old City for 15 days, and the other three were being brought before the Jerusalem Magistrate’s Court, where police are asking that their detention be extended.

“The Israel Police views all manifestations of violence and racism with the utmost severity and will continue to act decisively to locate those responsible, bring them to justice, and safeguard public safety,” police said.

Israel has been struggling to stop spitting attacks on Christian clergy and vandalism of church property in the Old City.

The attackers outside the St. James Monastery

In April, after a series of similar incidents, the Foreign Ministry appointed veteran diplomat George Deek to a newly created role of special envoy to the Christian world.

Speaking to Fox News on August 1, President Isaac Herzog said Israel was “dealing with” attacks on Christians “aggressively.”

The Higher Presidential Committee for Church Affairs in Palestine in a statement on August 3 condemned the attack carried out by the attackers, saying it “constitutes a new provocation targeting the Christian presence and its holy sites in the Holy City.

In a statement, the Committee affirmed that this attack is part of a continuous series of colonist attacks targeting churches, mosques, clergy, and holy sites. It added that the incident reflects escalating settlement policies aimed at imposing new realities across the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, while Israel’s military offensive in the Gaza Strip continues, in what it described as a violation of international law and freedom of worship.

The Armenian Mirror-Spectator

Topics: Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem, Attack in Jerusalem

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The Committee added that the attack coincided with the continued crimes committed against the Palestinian people, which resulted in the killing of 18 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. This reflects a persistent pattern of violations targeting Palestinians and their holy sites, and underscores the dangerous escalation taking place throughout the occupied Palestinian territory.

The committee called on the international community to uphold its legal and moral responsibilities, to pressure the occupying authorities to halt colonist attacks and ongoing violations against the Palestinian people and their holy sites, to hold those responsible accountable, and to provide international protection for Islamic and Christian holy sites in Jerusalem, as they are an integral part of human and religious heritage.

There appeared to be no statement from the Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem. However, on its page on the platform X, formerly known as Twitter, the Patriarchate had posted a comment directed at US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee: “ @GovMikeHuckabee we call on you again to condemn these acts of hate against Christians in Jerusalem. We call on you again to ask the Israeli government to CRIMINALIZE these acts for what they are. These are hate crimes anywhere in the West. Why aren’t they hate crimes here?”

Attacks on Armenians as well as other Christians are common in the city. Another similar incident was recorded in 2023.

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