The Financial Times has an interesting article on the changing debate over gun ownership in Israel. The debate here is very similar to the gun control debate in the United States.
. . . For some at the range, obtaining a gun is a reaction to the wave of bloodshed that has engulfed Israel and the West Bank for the past year. The surge in violence has become the worst for a decade, with Israeli forces killing more than 250 Palestinians in a series of near-nightly raids in response to a spate of Palestinian attacks that have killed more than 40 Israelis.
But broader gun ownership is also a goal championed by Israel’s ultranationalist national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, who argues it would make the public safer. Critics dispute this, saying that more guns will fuel violence rather than deter it and exacerbate already soaring tensions between Israelis and Palestinians.
Unlike in the US, there is no general right to bear arms in Israel. But Israelis can typically get a licence for a firearm and 50 bullets if they meet certain criteria, such as living in an area with heightened security threats, passing a medical test, having no criminal record and completing weapons training. About 140,000 Israelis hold licences.
After a Palestinian gunman shot dead seven Israelis in the Neve Ya’akov settlement in January, Ben-Gvir — a settler previously convicted of inciting racism and supporting a terrorist organisation — pledged to loosen the rules and speed up licensing. He reiterated his ambitions last month after reports he had decided to make it easier for former combat soldiers, active reservists, police and firefighters to obtain guns. . . .
James Shotter, “‘The police and military can’t be everywhere’: Israelis wrangle over easing gun controls,” The Financial Times, May 13, 2023.
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