LONDON: Six Israelis were detained on Sunday on charges of attacking the entrance of the Armenian Patriarchate’s St. James Monastery in Jerusalem’s Old City.
The incident occurred at about 1 a.m., according to an X post by Jerusalem-based Armenian reporter Kegham Balian, who said the group gathered outside the monastery and “took turns spitting at the monastery entrance.”
Tensions rose further when the group spotted an Armenian woman filming them from a nearby residence. Balian, who posted video of the episode, said the Israelis responded by hurling stones at her window and shouting insults.
Israeli police took all six into custody, while the Armenian Patriarchate lodged an official complaint over the assault, according to Balian.
Citing Israeli police, the Times of Israel reported that one of the six was an adult and the others minors.
BREAKING: On Sunday at around 1:00 a.m., six Jewish Israelis attacked the entrance to the Saint James Monastery in the Armenian Quarter of Jerusalem.
They took turns spitting at the monastery entrance. When they noticed an Armenian woman filming the incident from her home,… pic.twitter.com/kXHgO0JJDK
— Kegham Balian (@kbalian90) August 2, 2026
Authorities banned three of the suspects from entering the Old City for a 15-day period; the remaining three face a hearing before the Jerusalem Magistrate’s Court, where investigators are pushing to keep them in custody longer.
The assault adds to a pattern of harassment targeting Jerusalem’s Armenian Christian community.
Community leaders say incidents targeting clergy, congregants and Armenian-owned property have grown more frequent in recent years, deepening fears for the future of one of Christianity’s oldest surviving communities, according to The Armenian Report.
Curbing attacks on Christian clergy and vandalism of church sites in the Old City have proven difficult for Israeli authorities.
In a Fox News interview on Saturday, President Isaac Herzog said his government was “dealing with it aggressively.”
