An Israeli court has acquitted a jewish man who attacked a nun in Jerusalem in an incident caught on CCTV which drew widespread condemnation.

Jerusalem Magistrates Court said Yona Schreiber was experiencing a 'psychotic episode' when he pushed over and kicked the French nun in the Old City in occupied East Jerusalem in April.

It ruled that he was not criminally responsible for his actions and ordered him to be sent to a open psychiatric hospital for up to six years for monitoring.