In the wake of the Hamas sneak attack on Israel that has claimed over 1,100 lives, it will now be easier for Israelis to defend themselves with firearms. On Sunday, Israeli Minister of National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir announced he’d ordered the standards for issuing gun licenses to be loosened.
“Today I directed the Firearms Licensing Division to go on an emergency operation in order to allow as many citizens as possible to arm themselves,” he posted on Twitter.
“Any citizen who meets the detailed tests for carrying a private firearm due to self-defense and serving the security forces and is without a criminal or medical record will be required to undergo a telephone interview instead of a physical interview and will be able to receive permission to carry a firearm within a week,” Ben-Gvir said, according to a Google translation of the post. “(Self-defense tests: residence in an eligible settlement, rifle veterans 07 and above, officers in the rank of lieutenant and above and combatants in the rank of major and above in the IDF and the security forces, service in special units, firefighters, policemen, and workers and volunteers in the rescue forces).”
Eligible citizens who meet the criteria can now undergo a telephone interview instead of a physical one, and they can obtain permission to carry a firearm within a week. Any citizen who received a conditional permit to purchase a firearm in 2023 but did not purchase one can now buy a firearm without reapplying. Citizens who turned in their firearms over the previous six months, because they didn’t complete renewal training, can get their weapons back. The number of bullets that can be purchased by those with conditional permits has also been doubled. Gun-carry requirements will also be loosened.
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“I thank the members of the Firearms Licensing Division, the Civil Response Department of the Israel Police, and the employees of the Ministry of Health for the very important commitment that will allow as many citizens as possible to arm themselves and protect themselves and their environment when necessary,” Ben-Gvir said.
This is a significant change in policy, as it provides Israelis the opportunity to protect themselves. It’s actually hard to believe that Israelis, who live under the constant threat of war, didn’t already have easier access to firearms for self-defense. It certainly would have been useful on Saturday. More than a hundred Israeli civilians were kidnapped and taken to Gaza. According to Ranjit Singh at our sister site Bearing Arms, “Israel’s gun control looks a lot like New York’s or California’s gun control before NYSRPA v. Bruen, except it’s much worse. An old 2012 Washington Post article published a few weeks after Sandy Hook said that a whopping 40 percent of permit applications are rejected.”
Israel is taking steps in the right direction to allow its citizens to protect themselves. It’s just unfortunate that it took such an attack for them to do it.
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