A man was arrested for allegedly pouring gasoline on a synagogue in Zurich, Swiss police said on Sunday.

The 32-year-old Swiss man was described by the Zurich city police as “mentally disturbed”.

Local media reported that the suspect spilled gas at the entrance to the Agudas Achim synagogue near Wiedikon train station on Saturday evening, but was caught by a security guard.

He fled the scene on foot, but was arrested after a police manhunt early Sunday morning.

According to initial media reports, the attack was carried out by several people.

However, police said he acted alone and did not believe the attack had an extremist motive.

Knife attack on the same synagogue

In March, an anti-Semitic knife attack on an Orthodox Jew took place in the Agudas Achim Synagogue. The victim was seriously injured in the attack.

A 15-year-old Swiss boy was arrested in connection with this attack.

Since Hamas militants carried out unprecedented attacks in Israel on October 7, triggering the Israeli military assault on the Gaza Strip, anti-Semitic and anti-Muslim hate crimes have increased across Europe.

According to a survey by the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights, some Jewish organizations report a 400 percent increase in anti-Semitism since the start of the war.

Three-quarters of Jewish respondents said they felt that people blamed them for the actions of the Israeli government, and about 80 percent believed that anti-Semitism had increased in the European country where they live in the five years prior to the survey.

mm/rmt (AFP, KNA)