More: The nun suffered bruises on her face and leg due to the attack, the statement said.

The attorney's office asked the Jerusalem Magistrate's Court, where it filed the indictment, to hold the man in detention until the legal proceedings against him conclude.

Jerusalem's Old City in recent years has seen frequent incidents in which religious Jews spit on Christian sites or otherwise try to intimidate Christians and Christian clergy in the city, members of the city's Christian community say.