Israel's biggest Gay Pride event was slated to kick off at noon Friday, after being cancelled in 2020 due to the COVID pandemic.
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Police expected the event to draw the country's biggest crowds since the start of the pandemic, with tens of thousands of revelers and supporters expected to flock to Tel Aviv for the party.
The parade is scheduled to set out at 12 p.m. from Shalag St. at the corner of Herbert Samuel and move toward Charles Clore park at the southern end of the Tel Aviv promenade, for a total distance of 1.7 km. (1.05 miles).
The gay pride parade was scheduled to coincide with a government decision to reinstate masks indoors, but security forces were more concerned about other safety risks to participants, and nearly 1,500 police personnel, as well as MDA paramedics and firefighters, were deployed all along the route of the march.
Sadly, the concerns about participants' safety were not empty.
Detectives from the Tel Aviv District Police arrested on Friday a man carrying various weapons, including an electric taser, nunchuks, and chains. The man, a resident of Tel Aviv in his 30s, had been under surveillance. He was arrested and his weapons confiscated. Later Friday, the man was due to appear at the Tel Aviv Magistrates Court for a remand hearing.
Police have asked the public to keep their eyes open about potential threats and call the 100 hotline to report any suspicious activity.
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