Two Israeli citizens were stabbed on Friday on Ermou Street, a well-known shopping district in central Athens.
According to a report in Ynet, one of the attackers, originally from the Gaza Strip, was apprehended, while the second suspect managed to escape.
The Foreign Ministry stated that the detained assailant “had participated in the past in pro-Palestinian demonstrations.”
The ministry also noted that the Israelis were targeted after speaking Hebrew, and that one of them was wearing a Star of David necklace.
Neither of the victims required hospitalization, the ministry confirmed.
Unverified reports suggested that the two Israelis, believed to be a couple, were attacked while returning to their hotel after dining at a restaurant.
In March of 2023, Greek police arrested two Iranian men of Pakistani origin suspected of being members of a group that planned an arson or bomb attack against an Israeli restaurant and the same synagogue in Athens.
The Mossad had praised Greece for foiling the attack, accusing Iran of orchestrating the operation. Iran denied it was involved in the plot.
In July of 2024, Greece's anti-terrorism police arrested seven people over arson attacks against an Israeli-owned hotel and a synagogue in central Athens.
A 25-year-old Greek woman, two Iranians aged 46 and 36 and an Afghan accomplice, 44, were arrested over a May 15 attack with a makeshift incendiary bomb on a building housing an Israeli-owned hotel and restaurant, according to the statement.
The four were accused of arson that could potentially put human lives at risk and of causing damage to foreign-owned property in a racially motivated attack.
In another incident on June 18, a 44-year old Greek man and a 26-year old Afghan rode near a synagogue in Athens on a motorcycle and threw flammable material at its entrance causing fire, police said. A police official said a 30-year-old Iranian had been arrested as their accomplice.