A 20-year-old man from the Jerusalem area was arrested overnight Wednesday-Thursday on suspicion that he filmed himself urinating on a mosque and posted the footage online.
The man, who Hebrew media said is a resident of a nearby moshav, filmed himself urinating on the Al-Uzair Mosque in Abu Ghosh, an Arab town west of Jerusalem, and posted the video to his TikTok account late Wednesday.
The video went viral and was reported to police, who arrested the man.
In a statement, the Israel Police said that “police received footage from the internet of a young man urinating on the wall of a mosque” and began investigating.
Police said that once the suspect had been identified, officers arrested him and took him to a station for questioning “regarding the offense of insulting religion and behavior that is likely to violate public peace.”
The statement added that the man is expected to be brought before a judge on Thursday.
“I am pondering on a mosque”: A 20 -year -old Jewish young man was arrested on suspicion of imposing his waters on a mosque wall in Abu Ghosh near Jerusalem and documented his actions to the voice of Zahala and shared on social networks. He is suspected of committing an offense of religious and behavior that may violate public peace pic.twitter.com/ubf2y5zset
– Shlomi Heller | Shlomi Heller (@heller_shlomi) August 28, 2025
“This is an unacceptable and shameful act that deserves every reproach,” police said. “There will be no patience or forgiveness for anyone who commits acts of hatred against others.”
“We will act against all incidents of violence against religious institutions, religious figures, and in general… and every criminal will know that the long arm of the police will reach every suspect, wherever they may be,” the statement concluded.
Responding to the video, a resident of Abu Ghosh told the Ynet news site that it “is a shameful act committed by a racist and disgusting young man.”
“If an Arab had done this in a synagogue – he would have been arrested immediately and the entire country would have stood up,” the resident said, according to the news site. “There must be a great outcry against this act that harms all holy places.”
In recent years, there have been numerous incidents of attacks and vandalism on non-Jewish religious sites across the country and in the West Bank, including churches and mosques, which religious officials blame on Jewish extremists and settlers.
There has also been an uptick in attacks and harassment of non-Jews, especially in Jerusalem, most notably spitting attacks of Christians in the Old City. During the first quarter of this year, the Religious Freedom Data Center detailed 44 harassment events against Christians in Jerusalem, of which 26 involved spitting, six were connected to verbal abuse, and five involved vandalism.
