A 23-year-old pro-Palestinian Arab student on Friday beat a 30-year-old Jewish student in Berlin during an argument about the Middle East conflict, causing the 30-year-old to require hospitalization, the website of the Judische Allgemeine newspaper reported.

According to the report, police said on Saturday that an argument broke out between the younger man, who has pro-Palestinian Arab views, and the older man who has pro-Israeli views.

During the argument, the younger man suddenly hit the older man in the face several times, causing him to fall down. The younger man is said to have kicked the man as he was lying on the ground, before fleeing the scene.

The 30-year-old was hospitalized with fractures to his face. His injuries are believed to be non-life threatening.

During a court-ordered search of the suspect's living quarters, his smartphone was confiscated, among other things. The investigation continues.

Since Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, the number of antisemitic crimes in Germany has risen sharply. The Federal Criminal Police Office said late last year it recorded more than 1,100 antisemitic offenses up to December 21.

In one incident, a synagogue in the German capital of Berlin was firebombed by two assailants. The incident is being investigated as a hate crime.

In late October, police in the western German city of Essen arrested a man who plotted to attack a pro-Israel demonstration.

On New Year’s Eve, a Berlin memorial to the Jewish children rescued from the Nazis was vandalized, including with images of a mosque.

Last month, a man assaulted two people who were speaking Hebrew in Berlin's Neukölln district, before fleeing the scene with a companion.

Source - INN/X - Image - Reuters