A staffer from the Israeli embassy in Beijing was attacked by a knife-wielding man on the street in broad daylight on Friday. The victim is reportedly in stable condition after suffering bloody stab wounds.
The identity of the attacker was not immediately released, but Friday was declared a “day of rage” by the terrorist group Hamas, which called for attacks against Jews around the world.
The Israeli Foreign Ministry confirmed to the South China Morning Post (SCMP) that the victim has been hospitalized in stable condition. He appeared to suffer stab wounds in the shoulder and chest as he grappled with his assailant.
The attacker was described only as “a tall, thin man in a white top armed with a knife.” District police said he appeared to be “non-Chinese.” He was last seen heading west from the scene of the assault.
A second viral video clip appeared to show the bloodstained victim lying on the pavement and telling onlookers he was an employee of the Israeli embassy. A police officer arrived on the scene and said he was from the station in Xinyuanti, a district in northeastern Beijing near the embassy district that is popular with foreign shoppers.
The Chinese government did not acknowledge the attack or provide any additional information. China has steadfastly refused to condemn the barbaric Hamas attack on Israel, instead calling for a “ceasefire to end the violence” before Hamas suffers repercussions for its actions.
The Israeli government on Thursday expressed “deep disappointment” with China’s refusal to issue a “clear and unequivocal condemnation of the terrible massacre committed by the terrorist organization Hamas against innocent civilians and the abduction of dozens of them to Gaza.”
“The Chinese announcements do not contain any element of Israel’s right to defend itself and its citizens, a fundamental right of any sovereign country that was attacked in an unprecedented manner and with cruelty that has no place in human society,” the Israeli Foreign Ministry said.
Hamas demanded a “Day of Rage” or “Day of Jihad” against Jews around the world on Friday, calling for demonstrations and attacks to celebrate the “Al-Aqsa Flood Operation,” its name for the cowardly and brutal assault that killed hundreds of Israeli men, women, and children last Saturday.
Security forces across the world have been placed on high alert for Friday. Eyewitnesses in Beijing described an increased Chinese police presence around both the Israeli and Palestinian embassies. If the attack in Beijing is determined to be a “knife jihad” attack conducted on behalf of Hamas, it would stand as one of the first examples of “Day of Rage” violence, along with the reported stabbing of a high school teacher in France by a Chechen migrant.
