Israeli police said on Monday that five Jewish teenagers suspected of beating a Palestinian in Jerusalem and leaving him in critical condition had been arrested, dpa reported.
Jamal Julani, 17, was attacked on Thursday in a central Jerusalem square by Jewish youths. He lost consciousness and was taken to hospital in serious condition.
Witnesses said a Jewish mob at the square chanted racist slogans and dozens of people looked on as Julani was attacked.
Israeli Vice Prime Minister Moshe Ya'alon condemned both incidents as "intolerable" hate crimes and "terrorist acts which contravene Jewish values" and deserved the harshest response.
Israeli police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said the five arrested included four minors. The youngest was 13 and oldest 19.
"We are interrogating them now in order to understand what the background of this event was," he told dpa.
Police were watching footage of security cameras, and waiting for the victim to recuperate and help in the investigation.
Julani told reporters after waking up that he remembered nothing of the attack.
"They told me that a couple of Jews beat me again and again," he said from his hospital bed.
A hospital spokeswoman said his condition had improved and he was transferred from intensive care Sunday.
Police said no suspects had yet been arrested in another case of suspected Jewish violence, also Thursday night, on the West Bank south of Jerusalem. Unknown assailants threw a firebomb at a Palestinian taxi. Five members of one family, including three children and the driver suffered serious burns