An Israeli court cleared a settler who attacked an elderly nun, ruling he was psychotic at the time — a decision critics call proof that attacks on Christians in Jerusalem go unpunished.

• A Jerusalem court accepted a psychiatric finding that the attacker was in a psychotic state and did not know what he was doing.
• The same assessment admitted there was no clear proof his psychotic thoughts caused the attack.
• He was sent to a psychiatric hospital for up to six years, but doctors can release him at any time.
• The nun's lawyer asked why, in a supposed breakdown, he targeted only her.
• Attacks on Christians in Jerusalem are common — spitting, abuse, vandalized graves and churches — with dozens of incidents already this year and more than 180 last year.

Outlook: Expect more pressure from Muslim and Christian groups over what they see as impunity for settler violence, with little sign the pattern of attacks slows.