Palestinian man decapitated over sexual orientation in the West Bank
Palestinians were shocked at the gruesome killing of a young Palestinian gay man, whose body was found decapitated near the city of Hebron in the West Bank.
In a crime labeled as one the most heinous crimes committed in the Palestinian territories in years, the Palestinian police in the West Bank found Oct. 5 the decapitated body of Ahmed Abu Markhiya, 25, with several stab wounds, in the city of Hebron in the southern West Bank.
Israel’s Haaretz newspaper reported that Abu Markhiya had been living in Israel in the town of Gush Dan for two years, awaiting the acceptance of his asylum application to Canada. Israel had granted Abu Markhiya, who was gay, a humanitarian permit because he had been subject to repeated death threats in his hometown in the West Bank over his sexual identity.
It remains unclear how Abu Markhiya ended up in Hebron, where his body was found.
Palestinian police spokesman Col. Louay Azriqat told Al-Monitor, “The murder of Abu Markhiya is one of the most heinous, complex crimes committed in Palestine. The young man's head was cut off and placed next to his body. The murder scene was photographed by citizens who were at present after the crime was committed.”
