Israeli police have accused a jailed anti-gay ultra-Orthodox Jew of plotting another attack on Jerusalem's annual Gay Pride march from his prison cell.

Yishai Schlissel, 40, is serving a life sentence for murdering a girl aged 16 and stabbing others at the 2015 parade.

Schlissel's brother Michael was arrested on Wednesday and other family members were briefly detained ahead of the parade, Israeli media say.

News of the suspected plot came hours before the start of this year's march.

Israeli media said hundreds of police will be on duty to ensure it passes off peacefully.

Schlissel stabbed six people during the 2015 march. One of them, Shira Banki, later died in hospital.

He said he had been doing God's will when he stabbed his victims.

At the time he had just ended a 10-year term for a similar attack in 2005.

At sentencing last month the court criticised the police, saying they had known the danger Schlissel posed but failed to act properly.

The Gay Pride event in Jerusalem has long been a source of tension between the city's secular community and its Jewish Orthodox groups.

Source:
courtesy of BBC NEWS

by BBC News

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