Israeli court acquits Jewish settler who kicked Catholic nun in the head

Israeli court acquits Jewish settler who kicked Catholic nun in the head An Israeli court has acquitted Yona Schreiber, a Jewish settler from the occupied West Bank settlement of Peduel, over a violent assault on a French Catholic nun near Jerusalem’s Old City earlier this year. The Jerusalem Magistrate’s Court acquitted Schreiber on Wednesday on the grounds of "mental illness". Following the ruling, Schreiber’s lawyer, Idan Gamliel, described the attack as an “unfortunate incident” and said the defence took “note” of the nun’s “difficult feelings” over the assault. Schreiber attacked the 48-year-old nun in April outside the Cenacle on Mount Zion, a site regarded as holy by Christians and Jews. The nun, a researcher at Jerusalem’s French School of Biblical and Archaeological Research, required medical treatment after Schreiber pushed her to the ground and kicked her in the head. The attack drew international condemnation and formed part of a growing pattern of attacks by Jewish extremists against Christians in occupied East Jerusalem and the West Bank. Read more: Israeli court acquits Jewish settler who kicked Catholic nun in the head The 48-year-old nun was attacked on 28 April 2026 in occupied East Jerusalem, leaving her face bruised (Handout via Israeli police)