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St. James Monastery Attack
Israeli police detained six Jewish Israeli men early Sunday after they allegedly attacked the entrance of the Armenian Patriarchate’s St. James Monastery in Jerusalem’s Old City, with the incident occurring at about 1 a.m. and the group “took turns spitting at the monastery entrance.”
“Six Israelis were detained on Sunday after allegedly attacking the entrance of the Armenian Patriarchate’s St. James Monastery in Jerusalem’s Old City”
Jerusalem-based Armenian reporter Kegham Balian said the confrontation escalated when the men noticed an Armenian woman filming them from a nearby residence, after which they began hurling stones at her window and shouting insults.
The Armenian Patriarchate lodged an official complaint following the assault, and police records cited by the Times of Israel said one of the six was an adult and the remaining five were minors.
Authorities banned three of the suspects from entering the Old City for a 15-day period, while the remaining three face a hearing before the Jerusalem Magistrate’s Court as investigators seek to keep them in custody longer.
Insults, Stones, and Custody
Balian, who posted video of the episode, said the men responded to the Armenian woman filming them by hurling stones at her window and shouting insults in her direction.
The Armenian Report described the verbal abuse as “Get back inside, you daughter of a whore!” while stating that Israeli police detained all six suspects and that three were issued 15-day restraining orders prohibiting them from entering Jerusalem's Old City while the investigation continues.
Anadolu Ajansı said the Jerusalem governorate published footage showing at least five Israeli occupiers spitting at the church before throwing stones at the building Awad Rjoob and Rania Abushamala.
The incident was framed by Arab News PK as part of a pattern of harassment targeting Jerusalem’s Armenian Christian community, and it cited President Isaac Herzog saying his government was “dealing with it aggressively.”
Wider Pattern and Ongoing Risks
Anadolu Ajansı reported that the Palestinian Higher Presidential Committee for Church Affairs documented at least 45 attacks by Israeli occupiers and army forces against Christians and their holy sites since the start of the year.
“documented at least 45 attacks by Israeli occupiers and army forces against Christians”
The same Anadolu Ajansı report said attacks against Palestinians and their properties have escalated across the occupied West Bank since Israel launched its war on the Gaza Strip in October 2023, adding that at least 1,182 Palestinians have been killed, around 13,000 injured and approximately 24,000 arrested in the occupied territory, according to official Palestinian figures.
SyriacPress said no injuries were reported in Sunday’s monastery incident, but it described the episode as renewing concerns among Christian communities about the protection of religious sites and minorities in Urishlem.
SyriacPress also linked the timing to a dispute over recognition of the Armenian Genocide, noting that on 26 July 2026 the Armenian Patriarchate of Urishlem issued a statement after a proposed resolution recognizing the Armenian Genocide was removed from the list of policies scheduled for a vote in the Israeli Knesset.