100,000 Gun Licenses Have Been Approved in Israel Since October 7 Attack By Hamas
Jose Nino
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Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir claims that Israel is currently “safer” after boasting that his office has given the green light to 100,000 gun licenses since October 7, per a the Times of Israel report that was published on March 18, 2024.
“This week we reached a milestone at the National Security Ministry: the 100,000th citizen received his firearms license,” Ben Gvir said to reporters.
“Out of 299,354 applications submitted since the war … more than 100,000 citizens have already been approved to arm themselves because weapons save lives,” he stated, mentioning that “the dimensions of the [October 7] disaster were less” in places where “civilians could protect themselves.”
According to Israeli media reports, thousands of the requests for firearms permits were granted illegally. The reports highlighted that Ben Gvir personally intervened to assist former Israeli spy Jonathan Pollard leapfrog police and court barriers to acquire a firearm license.
Irrespective of what one thinks about Israel’a policies in Gaza, factions of the Israeli Right recognize that a disarmed populace will be susceptible to attacks like those of October 7. Moreover, with Palestinians disarmed, newly armed Israeli settlers militants can violently displace Palestinians.
This goes to show how force is still the order of the day in politics. At the end of the day, no one wants to be disarmed during an existential struggle.
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