Ramallah (West Bank), Aug 20 (AP) Palestinian police have threatened to arrest anyone involved in a gathering planned by LGBT activists and have called on people to come forward with information about them.

The announcement over the weekend followed word that al-Qaws, an LGBT group in the Palestinian territories, was planning a gathering this week in the northern West Bank town of Nablus.

Police said on Sunday they would "pursue this gathering" and seek charges against anyone involved in it. The police are under the Western-backed Palestinian Authority, which governs parts of the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

Word of the gathering had sparked fierce debate on social media, with some Palestinians defending the activists and others condemning them for violating religious and traditional norms. Homosexuality is taboo in Arab countries, many of which criminalise it. (AP)

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)