Israelis practice shooting handguns at a Jerusalem shooting range, following a recent wave of terror attacks in Israel.
Israel’s National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir says civilian stopping latest terror attack with a legal gun proved its ‘importance and effectiveness’
A Palestinian rammed a car into pedestrians midday Tuesday, sending nine Israelis to hospital. The terrorist illegally entered Israel to carry out the attack, but was stopped by a civilian with a gun before more devastation could have been caused.
Israeli national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir has been a strong advocate for a reform to ease the gun license process, and remarked on the terror attack by saying, “this neutralization proved once again the importance and effectiveness of citizens carrying weapons.”
With each attack in Israel, the question of whether or not people should be allowed to carry a gun grows. According to political analyst Dror Even-Sapir, the security establishment, the police and the Shin Bet internal security agency were not keen about easing the license process.
“You really have to meet very strict conditions in Israel, it’s not the US,” the analyst told, adding that many security officials support increased screening for gun licenses.
“Recent terrorist attacks prove that, even if gun licenses are only distributed under very strict conditions, there is always a civilian who knows how to draw his weapon at the right moment”, he asserted.
Some Israelis fear that a less restrictive policy on the carrying of guns could lead to a dangerous influx of available weapons. While a significant proportion supports the means of defending oneself and others.
In 2022, there were a record 42,236 applications for gun licenses in Israel. Of those, 9,256 were rejected and 10,986 permits were issued, while 17,373 applications were still being processed. But with 132 terrorist attacks since the start of 2023, in the West Bank alone, the figure could rise significantly.
