Sunday, 09 October 2022 – Palestinian authorities have arrested a suspect over the killing of a gay man who was found decapitated in the occupied West Bank.
It was gathered that the victim Ahmad Abu Marhia, 25, had been receiving death threats because of his sexual identity.
A horrific video of the murder scene was widely shared on social media.
LGBT groups in Israel said Ahmad Abu Marhia had spent the last two years living in Israel where he was waiting on an asylum claim to live abroad in Canada.
The same groups also said he had continued to receive death threats from within the community where he was living.
It is currently unclear how he ended up in Hebron, a Palestinian city in the southern West Bank.
However, his family said he regularly visited Hebron to see them and to work. They also said the claims about the motive of his murder was rumour.
Homosexuality is rejected within many parts of Palestine. Around 90 Palestinians are seeking asylum in Israel because they identify as LGBT.
LGBT activist, Natali Farah told Israel’s Haaretz newspaper that Mr. Abu Marhia was well-known and liked within the LGBTQ community.
She said: ‘He was intelligent and quiet. Many people knew him. The whole community is crying now.’
‘Everyone is scared,’ she added.
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