A man has been arrested in China after an employee of the Israeli embassy in Beijing was stabbed in the street on Friday afternoon.
Chinese authorities in the capital’s Chaoyang district confirmed they had detained a 53-year-old suspect whose nationality has not been disclosed.
The incident occurred at around 2 p.m. local time in the Zuojiazhuang subdistrict of Chaoyang when a male family member of an Israeli diplomat was attacked by a man brandishing a knife.
Footage circulated on social media purported to show the attack as bystanders witnessed the victim sustain several knife wounds to his shoulder and chest.
The Israeli Foreign Ministry confirmed the attack and revealed the victim had been treated in the hospital for his injuries and remained in stable condition.
#BREAKING: A diplomat at Israel’s Embassy in China has been stabbed in #Beijing. Israel’s Foreign Ministry has confirmed the attack and said the victim is hospitalized and in stable condition.
[WARNING: graphic footage] pic.twitter.com/tybZyZhRoo
— Adelle Nazarian (@AdelleNaz) October 13, 2023“An Israeli employee at the Israeli embassy in Beijing was attacked today (not in the embassy area). The employee is being treated in hospital and his condition is stable,” a statement from the ministry read.
“The background of the attack is being investigated,” it added.
Chinese police acquired CCTV footage from nearby shops and spoke to eyewitnesses shortly after the attack, and confirmed later on Friday they had detained a suspect.
The South China Morning Post reported that the suspect is not believed to be a Chinese national.
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The attack occurred on the same day that the terror group Hamas, responsible for atrocities on Israeli territory and the slaughtering of hundreds of innocent civilians, called for a day of jihad against Israel and its Western allies.
A teacher in France was stabbed to death by a Chechen suspect who shouted “Allahu Akbar” as he engaged in a stabbing spree in the northern French city of Arras on Friday morning, severely wounding two others.
There is no confirmation that the attacker in Beijing was motivated by Islamist extremism, and the investigation into the attack is ongoing.
