A gay man who fled Palestine for asylum in Israel has been found brutally murdered.
On October 5, the dismembered and decapitated body of Ahmad Abu Murkhiyeh, 25, was found in the Palestinian city of Hebron.
He was last seen on the day of his murder, leaving for work from the hostel he was living at.
In a report from the Associated Press, Palestinian police disclosed that Abu Murkhiyeh’s body was found near his family’s house.
A spokesperson for the Palestinian police said that an acquaintance of the victim has been arrested in connection with the killing but no motive has been announced.
According to Rita Petrenko, founder of Israeli gay rights organisation Al Bait Al Mokhtalef, Abu Murkhiyeh left Palestine two years ago after he was outed and feared for his life.
In an interview with the Associated Press, Petrenko revealed, “He told me people not only in his family but in the village wanted to kill him,”
Petrenko continued, “He was scared of his brothers, his uncles, his cousins.”
It is not known how Abu Murkhiyeh turned up in Hebron.
According to Mako, his friends claim that he was abducted. Hila Peer from Israeli LGBTQ rights organization Aguda, discussed the situation faced by LGBTQ Palestinians.
Read the article by Douglas Magaletti on Star Observer.