Nazareth Hospital.

A 51-year-old resident of Nazareth—the Christian holy city described in the New Testament as the childhood home of Jesus—is suspected of throwing acid on the face of a 17-year-old girl on Tuesday, after her family refused to marry their daughter to the man. The girl suffered severe burns on her eyes and tongue.

Police suspect that the man came to the girl’s house in the middle of the night and knocked on her window, and when she opened it, he threw acid on her. The man was taken into custody and his detainment was extended for five days.

The teenage girl was initially taken to the French Hospital in Nazareth, but due to the severity of her burns, she was transferred to Rambam Hospital in Haifa. She is reported to be in serious but not critical condition, and currently is deeply sedated and on a respirator. The medical team reported that some of the acid had gone into the girl’s mouth, thus causing her breathing difficulties. The damage to her eyes is very serious, and eye doctors are currently working to save her eyesight.

One of the young woman’s relatives told Israel Hayom: “She hasn’t had an easy life. Her family also hasn’t had an easy time with her, and now this disaster happened to her. The person who did this needs to be severely punished, as in a murder case. He murdered her future and her aspirations. There is no forgiveness for what he did.”

Sa’id Hadad, the suspect’s attorney from the Public Defender’s Office, said, “The suspect denies the allegations against him and claims that it is all a story. At the time of the event he was at his home. He heard shouts and went outside to see what happened, and then returned home. He was not connected to the event.”