Ben Gvir Pushes for Five-Fold Increase in Gun Permits

YERUSHALAYIM (Reuters/Hamodia) — Israel’s National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir pledged on Tuesday to push through a five-fold increase in gun permits in the wake of a deadly terrorist attack outside a shulin Neve Yaakov last month that killed seven people, Hy”d.

A statement from Ben Gvir’s Otzma Yehudit party said he had ordered the Firearms Licensing Department to speed up the issuance of new permits from around 2,000 a month to 10,000.

“Civilians’ personal sense of security has fallen in recent years so I acted to accelerate the number of weapons in the streets, so that it will be possible to save lives in real time,” Ben Gvir said.

He has instructed the ministry to work according to emergency procedures to accelerate the process through May of this year, which will necessitate working longer hours and recruiting more staff.

Armed civilians openly carrying pistols in holsters on their hips and off-duty soldiers with their service weapons are common sights in Israel and in Jewish towns in Yehudah and Shomron, but Ben-Gvir pledged to increase the number of permits drastically after the Jan. 27 attack by a Palestinian gunman.

A day after the attack, a 13 year-old Palestinian boy opened fire on a group of passersby in the Yerushalayim district of Silwan, wounding two people before an armed civilian fired back, wounding him.

Israeli ministers have cited the civilian’s action in support of the plans to expand gun ownership, but last week, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Tuerk warned the plans would only lead to more violence and bloodshed.

Many Israelis are familiar with guns through the country’s near-universal compulsory military service, but those wishing to own a gun in civilian life must meet a number of strict government requirements.

In most cases, only pistols are permitted and licenses are dependent upon completing firearms training.

Issuance of handguns has already risen sharply. In the past month, around five times as many gun permits have been granted as usual, Walla news reported on Tuesday. The ministry has granted up to 408 permits in a day.

The minister also decided to waive the requirement of an interview for security officials applying for a personal license. That means IDF officers, police officers, Shin Bet and  Mossad officials, Prison Service wardens, and firefighters would no longer need to wait for an interview to obtain their license.

Permits are set to be issued, on average, about 75% faster, with a wait time of around 45 days, the Walla report said.

Critics warned that more firearms will come with significant risks, including suicides, violence against women, road rage incidents and murders.

“The calls that come up after terror attacks and other incidents to give weapons permits are dangerous and don’t look at the bigger picture, and only deal with the benefits of more weapons,” lawyer Ann Suciu of the Association for Civil Rights in Israel told Walla.