Palestinian LGBTQ+ activists protest in Haifa

Dozens of Palestinian activists participated in a pro-LGBTQ+ protest in the city of Haifa on Sunday.

The protest, dubbed, "Queer Cry for Freedom 2021", attempts to confront the violence and marginalisation that queer Palestinians face.

The demonstration began at 6pm at Haifa's Assir Square and headed down the German Boulevard.

Al-Qaws Association for Sexual and Gender Diversity - who organised the demonstration - Haifa Youth, and the Tala'at movement also participated.

Participants in the demonstration chanted slogans such as: "freedom, freedom… we want to live in freedom", "my voice is loud… my voice is free".

"Based on the spirit of our recent Palestinian, with all our love and anger, and all our fatigue and frustration, we invite you to participate in the demonstration of a queer cry for freedom 2021; to put our experiences and voices at the centre," Al-Qaws said.

"We must confront violence postponement and marginalisation, and let us not forget that the issues of sexuality and gender pluralism are the issues of the entire society."

Al-Qaws is active in the occupied West Bank. In 2019, they were banned by the Palestinian Authority from holding protests in the occupied territories.

After the ban was unveiled, the group said they received a high number of online threats.

While the Palestinian Authority does not explicitly ban homosexuality, members of the LGBTQ+ community in general keep their sexual or gender identities secret due to societal and religious taboos surrounding the community.