Thousands of people has taken part in Jerusalem's annual Gay Pride parade under heavy police guard, mindful of a fatal 2015 attack on marchers in the largely conservative city.
"We shall not allow any disturbance to public order and we shall ensure the safety of the march and its participants," a police statement had said yesterday.
It has said that about 10,000 people arrived for the start of the parade, setting off from a downtown Jerusalem park to march through nearby streets.
Speaking to AFP at the starting point, opposition leader Tzipi Livni, of the centrist Zionist Union alliance, said, "I am here to send a message to the government that the state of Israel must be a state with values such as equality and freedom."
Across the road a few dozen demonstrators gathered to protest against the parade and raised a banner in Hebrew reading: "No entry for this abomination to the Holy City."