WATCH ABOVE: An Israeli court on Friday extended the detention period of an anti-gay extremist suspected of stabbing six people during an annual gay pride parade in Jerusalem on Thursday evening.
WARNING: This post contains images that some people may find disturbshiing. Discretion is advised.
Six people were stabbed while taking part in a gay pride parade in Jerusalem on Thursday, with multiple reports suggesting the ultra-Orthodox Jewish man suspected of carrying out the attack is the same man who stabbed people at a pride march a decade ago.
Two participants suffered serious injuries, according to Haaretz, while the other victims were treated for light to moderate wounds.
WATCH ABOVE: At least 3 stabbed at Jerusalem gay pride parade
The suspected assailant is in police custody after a police officer “managed to tackle him to the ground,” Haaretz reported.
According to Ynetnews, the suspected assailant is Yishai Schlissel — who was convicted of stabbing three people during the 2005 parade.
Haaretz reported Yishai Schlissel had recently completed his 10-year prison term.
“Justice will be dealt to whoever was responsible for this act,” the Jerusalem Post reported Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu saying. “In the State of Israel, an individual’s freedom of choice is one of the country’s most basic values.
“It is up to us to make sure that every man and woman can live in safety at all times in every way that they choose to live. This is how we work and this is how we will continue to do things. I wish a speedy recovery to all those injured.”
Education Minister Naftali Bennett said the attack was a “moral crime that cannot be forgiven.
“Whoever did it harmed Jewish and moral values, and must be punished with the utmost severity. When events are clarified Israeli society must do some soul searching to understand how it has come to this,” Haaretz reported Bennett saying.
A group of 30 ultra-Orthodox Jewish demonstrators was permitted to protest the parade, which is in its 13th year and was estimated to have 5,000 people attending.
According to the Times of Israel, a “radical right wing group” called Lehava had set up a protest near Jerusalem’s Independence Park. The group “opposes relations between Jews and non-Jews in Israel,” TOI reported.
Meantime, Haaretz reported Israeli police arrested member of the right-wing Otzma Yehudit party earlier in the day.
CLARIFICATION: An earlier version of this post identified the suspect as Ishay Shilser, based on an Israeli media report. The correct spelling of the suspect’s name is Yishai Schlissel.
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