Labor Petitions High Court to Revoke Improperly Approved Gun Licenses

The Labor party has lodged a formal request with the High Court for National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir to retract gun licenses issued in recent months that were granted in contravention of regulations.

In December, Deputy Attorney-General Gil Limon informed the Knesset National Security Committee that approximately 14,000 gun licenses had been improperly authorized since Oct. 7, following a prominent campaign by Ben Gvir and the National Security Ministry to bolster gun ownership in response to the Oct. 7 atrocities perpetrated by Hamas.

The petition from the Labor party states that unqualified individuals, including young women serving in national service, Knesset personnel, and political appointees of Ben Gvir, were involved in approving gun licenses. Furthermore, it states that some licenses were granted without the necessary training.

Additionally, the petition underscores that more than half of the applicants obtained their licenses without undergoing a personal interview, and some were even prohibited from owning a firearm due to a history of violence, both of which are violations of gun licensing regulations.

MK Merav Michaeli, the leader of the Labor party, remarked after submitting the petition, “Ben Gvir’s decisions have led to a significant increase in the number of individuals carrying firearms in the country, infringing upon fundamental rights. This represents a highly perilous development for public safety, contravenes the law, and undermines essential democratic principles.”