Israeli civilians have been arming themselves following the Hamas terror attack on October 7, with some wielding large guns everywhere from markets to tonight.
Recent photos from around the country show everyday people carrying rifles and pistols in shopping malls, while crossing the street and in parks.
In the nearly two months since Hamas slaughtered about 1,200 people in southern Israel, the country’s Ministry of National Security has received about 255,000 gun license applications — 20,000 of which have been approved, Haaretz reported.
Just three days after the attack, demand for gun licenses was so high that the ministry had to allocate 60 additional staff to process all the requests, the outlet said.
“I have six children, and after the October 7 incident, I understand that I must protect myself. The nights are very scary, so I want to get a license for a firearm, to be safe, to protect my children,” Shimrit Ben Arosh, who lives in an Israeli settlement in the occupied West Bank, said of his desire to carry a weapon.
Two women carried assault rifles as they walked a dog in downtown Tel Aviv last month. Getty Images
The push for armed civilians was spearheaded by Israel’s national security minister, Itamar Ben Gvir, who on October 9 launched what he called an “emergency operation to allow as many civilians as possible to arm themselves,” the Guardian reported.
Under the emergency measure, Ben Gvir ruled that any eligible Israeli citizen could go through a telephone interview instead of speaking in person and be granted a gun license within a week.
Within a month of the Israel-Hamas war, the Israeli government also announced the establishment of 700 volunteer security squads across the country – with priority given to border areas and “mixed towns” with Israeli and Palestinian residents, a ministry statement read.
Patrons carry firearms at an outdoor wine bar in Tel Aviv weeks after the October 7 attacks. Getty Images
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Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu supported Ben Gvir’s policy at a press conference last week, saying “the presence of armed civilians many times saved the day and prevented a greater disaster.”
When pressed about the death of Yuval Castleman – an Israeli civilian shot dead by an IDF reservist who mistook him for a terrorist at the site of a Hamas attack in Jerusalem – and whether an armed population could lead to more accidental killings, Netanyahu was evasive. concern.
“Maybe we will pay the price for it. That’s life,” said the 74-year-old prime minister.
A customer speaks with a staff member at a gun shop at the Caliber 3 shooting range in Gush Etzion. Reuters
Tensions in the West Bank have escalated since Israel launched a revenge attack on the Gaza Strip: Over the weekend, settlers allegedly attacked two Palestinian villages and killed a 38-year-old man.
“There is no one to defend us … Our movement is very limited, we always live in fear if we leave our house, we will be shot,” Abdelathim Wadi, who lives in Qusra, south of Nablus, told CNN.
Meanwhile, Israelis “feel that they have been neglected by the military and the government and the instinct is to demand arms,” Guy Ben-Porat, a professor of politics at Israel’s Ben Gurion University, told CNN.
Israeli men armed with US-made M16 automatic assault rifles walk through a shopping mall in Jerusalem. AFP via Getty Images
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Ben Gvir, Ben-Porat suggests, “exploited” the vulnerability of the attack after the violence.
“There is a gun culture because people are not safe, so they buy guns, and every local dispute can turn into a gun battle,” he warned.
On Monday, Yisrael Avisar, head of the Ministry of National Security’s Firearms Licensing Department, resigned after clashing with Ben Gvir over the theft of speedy firearms licenses, the Times of Israel reported.
People casually walk the streets of West Jerusalem with long-barreled weapons after the Israeli government encouraged civilians to arm themselves. Anadolu via Getty Images
The move came just days after Avisar told the Knesset that members of Ben Gvir’s forces had approved firearms licenses without proper authority, according to Haaretz.
A preliminary review of the proceedings showed that permits had also been granted to individuals who did not meet the relevant criteria, the outlet explained.
“This behavior is a recipe for disaster. They hand out weapons like candy. Firearm permits are not child’s play. There is almost no oversight in the ministry,” a senior security official told Haaretz.
The Israeli government received 255,000 gun license applications after the Oct. 7 attacks. Anadolu via Getty Images
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“Guns save lives, and [Ben Gvir’s] the policy is being expanded and not reduced,” the Ministry of National Security said in response to the criticism, according to the Times of Israel.
Ben Gvir, 47, was already a controversial figure before becoming national security minister last year.
As an aide to Rabbi Meri Kahane’s Kach party — designated a terrorist group by the United States — the father of five was previously convicted of inciting anti-Arab racism and conspiring with a terrorist group.
He famously removed a picture of Baruch Goldstein – an Israeli-American who shot dead 29 Palestinians in a mosque in 1994 – from his living room wall before entering politics.
His popularity in opinion polls, however, made him the cornerstone of Netanyahu’s comeback last fall, experts say.
“He is a populist demagogue. He played on sentiments of hatred and fear of Arabs,” said Shuki Friedman of the Jewish Policy Institute.
“He interviews well, he’s good on camera and he has a lot of screen time which gives him legitimacy.”
With Postal wire
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
