An Israeli court has acquitted a West Bank settler who assaulted a French Catholic sister near Mount Zion in Jerusalem earlier this year, ordering up to six years in a psychiatric facility, Israeli media reported.
Jerusalem Magistrate Court Judge Ophir Tischler acquitted Yona Schreiber citing an assessment from a district psychiatrist that found Schreiber was experiencing a psychotic episode during the attack and could not be found criminally responsible, according to The Jerusalem Post.
The Aug. 26 ruling ordered Schreiber to be committed to an inpatient treatment facility for a maximum six years, though he may be released early if a psychiatric council determines his mental condition to be improved.
The psychiatric assessment further diagnosed Schreiber with schizophrenia, media reports said. The assessment noted that a lack of conclusive evidence showing how Schreiber’s mental state led him to carry out the attack on the religious sister but said the illness influenced his actions nonetheless.
Schreiber was arrested and charged in April with assault and hostility toward a religious group for pushing a Catholic sister to the ground and kicking her in the head. The April 28 assault took place on Mount Zion near King David’s Tomb, steps from Dormition Abbey.
Videos of the attack circulated on social media, prompting backlash over rising anti-Christian violence in Israel.
At the time, Israel’s Foreign Ministry said it strongly condemned Schreiber’s actions, writing in an April 29 social media post: “Israel remains firmly committed to safeguarding freedom of religion and freedom of worship for all faiths, and to ensuring that Jerusalem remains a city where every community can live, pray, and practice its faith in safety and dignity.”