Three participants at an LGBT event in the northern West Bank settlement of Ariel were attacked on Thursday by unidentified assailants who doused them with pepper spray and threw eggs at them.
Police said the participants were slightly injured and had launched a search operation for the suspects, which remained at large.
Organizers of the event, the first of its kind in the settlement, told the Cannes public broadcaster that the suspects looked like “hill-top youths”, ultranationalist settlers who illegally set up outposts across the West Bank and killed Palestinians. And Israelis have been known to attack law enforcement officers.
Ariel Municipality said in a statement that the event was organized privately. “Unfortunately, unknown foreign elements attacked the participants and threw objects at them. The municipality strongly condemns the attack,” the municipality said.
Like many cities on the periphery of Israel, LGBTQ acceptance in settlements has been slower than in larger cities such as Tel Aviv. Those behind the Green Line are also more likely to be socially conservative, which puts an added pressure on those who struggle with their sexual identity. However, progress has been made in recent years, including support groups for LGBT children and their parents in a large settlement southeast of Jerusalem.
Pride parades in Israel are held in heavy police presence, especially since 2015, when an ultra-Orthodox extremist stabbed 16-year-old Shira Banki to death during a parade in Jerusalem.
Securing the Tel Aviv Pride Parade last month, police said they arrested about 50 suspects, many of whom were allegedly trying to harm thousands of participants in the mass festival.
Among those caught was a man from Tel Aviv, whom police said was planning to attack the participants. man was caught up Along with a Taser, Nunchucks and other items.
Another six people were also arrested on suspicion that they had conspired to attack the marchers, including two drones.