[Ayala Ben-Gvir, wife of Israel’s National Security Minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir] noted that some 100,000 people had applied for weapons in the last two weeks since the October 7 Hamas attack. She asked for “patience” given the massive load on the firearms licensing department. “Itamar and the Defense Ministry are doing everything to speed up the weapons approvals and allow you to protect yourself,” she wrote, noting that “to speed up the process” interviews for gun licenses would take place by telephone with “no need to physically come to the office’s branches.”
Once interviewed, she explained to prospective gun owners, “you will receive a firearms permit by email, pay the fee and can go to the range to learn the rules, practice and buy a weapon,” she wrote. She ended her series of posts by urging Israelis to “carry a weapon as soon as you can. It’s a life saver.”
Last week, Ben-Gvir announced that he had added the city of Sderot to the list of settlements qualified for the expanded gun-carrying rights. This week, he added Netivot and Ofakim to the list. “This war proves that we need to arm our citizens, the local security squads, in parallel to [having] a strong police force,” Ben-Gvir said. “We are trying to transfer as many weapons as possible, from wherever there are weapons, to strengthen the local security squads and provide the citizens the safety they need.”
Also posting on X this week, Itamar Ben-Gvir made a special appeal to Israeli women, noting that his office “made the exams easier for you” to receive a gun license.
“I call on all of you,” he wrote. “Go arm yourself”
— Allison Kaplan Sommer in ‘Carry a Gun, It’s a Life-Saver: Ben-Gvir and His Wife Boast of Dramatic Expansion in Israelis Carrying Weapons
