Melbourne – A cyclist who was carrying an Israeli flag has been attacked on a Melbourne shopping and dining strip in a clash fuelled by escalating local Israel-Palestine tensions.
Video obtained by 9News showed a laughing woman chasing after the cyclist on Chapel Street in South Yarra before she tried to remove the flag from his bicycle about 8pm yesterday.
The footage, captured by a witness, shows the man getting off his pushbike and falling over before he is set upon by two men.
The dramatic altercation was stopped by onlookers who intervened.
The cyclist, Ronen Martin-Cohen, who was part of an Israeli convoy, told 9News he was ambushed.
“I was pushing to the ground and then they kicked me, mainly in the chest and back,” he said.
Police said they were investigating the alleged assault.
