The Events and Their Course
Operation Guardian of the Walls in the Gaza Strip was accompanied by a series of violent events throughout the State of Israel. Three civilians were killed, and hundreds were injured.
During these events, there were incidents of Arabs using weapons against Jews, primarily in the city of Lod (Lidd). Similar to many right-wing conservative communities in the United States – which encourage their members to own firearms and even to "bring them to church" – a call was heard at the time from rabbis, urging worshippers arriving at synagogues in Lod to be armed.
Jewish rioters, who acted during the events, were hesitant to use firearms, although they occasionally encouraged their peers to equip themselves with them. Below is an example from a Telegram chat of the "Venom Battalion, Netanya" – a city in the northern Central District of Israel (May 13, 2021). The group was launched with the following message: "Today at nine o'clock, everyone is meeting at the central station [in Netanya]. Please, friends, equip yourselves with any weapons you can bring, and ensure that everyone compiles a list of Arab businesses so we can pass through." However, even when the group had firearms, a crucial question arose: "What do we do with them?" After all, "there are tools, but it is not wise to go out with them;" "You don't understand that they will arrest the whole company, and we'll end up with a criminal case." On this matter, there was agreement: "You are right. If we come to a city that is not ours with weapons, they will arrest everyone."
The group administrators instructed: "Be smart. No jokes. There is no problem bringing clubs, sticks, or detonators. Stun grenades – we have plenty." Regarding grenades and firearms, another exchange occurred: "Where do you get grenades?" The response: "There are plenty. The question is, who will take the risk? It's criminal, too!" Regardless of whether firearms or melee weapons were involved, the sentiment remained the same: "Friends, f*** them. Show them no mercy, just as they show no mercy. Cause them irreversible bodily harm!" However, concerns persisted among residents from outside the city: "So what do we do? What if they come with weapons?" The response was clear: "If it gets serious, we'll bring weapons too. Netanya has no shortage of them."
Following the Events – May 2021 to the End of the Year
Following the events of May 2021, societal boundaries were breached, leading to a rise in demand for private firearms. The Firearms Licensing and Supervision Department at the Ministry of Public Security published data summarizing 2021, revealing a sharp increase in applications for private firearm licenses. Minister of Public Security Omer Bar-Lev clarified: "While the long-term, consistent decline in the number of personal firearm license holders is an important trend, the increase in applications since the May events stems from a crack in citizens' sense of security." He emphasized that "our job is to heal this crack, improve the response of the Public Security forces, and ensure that citizens feel personally secure even without the need to carry personal firearms."
The process of obtaining firearms was facilitated by a reform introduced by former Minister Gilad Erdan in 2018. Minister Bar-Lev supported the Attorney General's recommendation to define the criteria for firearm licenses in secondary legislation within the Knesset. Accordingly, he initiated a professional review of the criteria before making any final decisions.
A senior law enforcement official remarked, "The number of requests is enormous but reasonable given the security situation in the country." According to him, the surge in applications reflects "the public's fear that the police will not be there at the moment of truth, so they prefer to be able to defend themselves in life-threatening situations. After witnessing the images from Lod, Ramle, and the Triangle and Negev regions, it is understandable why citizens seek to arm themselves for self-protection."
At the same time, MK Amir Ohana (Likud) announced the establishment of the "Lobby for Promoting the Right to Self-Defense in Israel," which included 20 other MKs, all from the opposition. MK Ohana’s lobby was based on a right-wing conservative ideology, akin to the Republican Party in the United States, which asserts that every citizen has the right to defend themselves. According to Ohana, Israel’s firearm licensing policy is "extremely restrictive," and the lobby aimed to propose legislative changes to ease these restrictions.
In July 2021, The State Attorney Office informed the High Court of Justice that the newly appointed Minister of Public Security, Omer Bar-Lev, supported the Attorney General's position regarding establishing firearm licensing criteria in secondary legislation. With this decision, Minister Bar-Lev took a stance contrary to that of his predecessor, Amir Ohana, who, during his tenure as Minister of Public Security since 2015, had actively worked to increase the number of firearms available in the public sphere (The procedure required approval from the Knesset's Internal Security Committee, which was never brought to a vote).
The State Attorney Office announcement further stated that, following the Minister's decision, the professional departments within the Ministry of Public Security would begin drafting a set of firearm licensing criteria to be presented to the Knesset's Interior and Environmental Protection Committee for approval. However, regarding security guards and their weapons, Minister Bar-Lev chose to maintain the existing policy. He extended the permit that allowed security guards to take their firearms home after working hours, continuing the approach upheld by his predecessors.
As a result, during 2021, there was a steady rise in applications for firearm licenses. More than 19,000 new applications were submitted – double the number from the previous two years – of which approximately 11,000 were approved.
The Controversy Over Firearms Licensing Policy and Its Consequences – 2022
A terrorist attack on Dizengoff Street in Tel Aviv in early April 2022 had a profound impact. The incident, in which a terrorist murdered passersby, resulted in a situation where gun owners from various groups and forces gathered in a densely populated area. Following the attack, the Chief of Staff warned: "Civilians cannot roam among police officers, each carrying a gun and taking to the streets to chase terrorists. This could lead to crossfire incidents."
In response to this concern and growing demands to relax firearm license criteria, Attorney Adi Kedar of the "Honenu" organization expressed opposition: "We are working to minimize the number of civilian-owned firearms. This approach is reckless and endangers lives."
Meanwhile, Aryeh King, the Deputy Mayor of Jerusalem and a figure closely associated with the Kahanist movement, issued a call to action in response to security incidents in East Jerusalem. He urged: "I call on Jews everywhere to patrol the streets of the Old City, and if you see Jews being attacked – step in and defend them."
Due to public pressure and reassessment of the security situation, Minister of Public Security Omer Bar-Lev announced a policy change: individuals who had served in operational roles in the police and Border Guard would now be eligible for firearm licenses, subject to certain conditions. Previously, Border Guard police soldiers were unable to obtain private firearm licenses because they had not completed level 07 rifle training/
Between 2017 and 2020, the number of private firearm license applications fluctuated, with fewer than 10,000 applications submitted annually. However, between 2020 and 2022, applications more than doubled each year, increasing fivefold over the two-year period. In 2022, a total of 42,000 applications were submitted, of which approximately 13,500 were approved.
The Sixth Netanyahu Government – From the Swearing-in of the Government to October 7, 2023
In May 2022, the thirty-seventh government received the confidence of the twenty-fifth Knesset. On December 28, 2022, a coalition agreement was signed between the Likud Party and Otzma Yehudit. It stipulated that "within 60 days of the establishment of the government, a government decision will be made declaring a comprehensive national campaign to restore personal security throughout Israel, to eradicate nationalist crime, and to prepare to deal with the opening of an internal front in an emergency." On December 29, the new government received the confidence of the Knesset, and its ministers were sworn in immediately thereafter, including Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, who was appointed Minister of Public Security. His ministry was renamed the Ministry of National Security at his initiative.
On Saturday night, January 27, 2023, a Palestinian terrorist, a resident of East Jerusalem, shot and killed civilians in the Neve Yaakov neighborhood of Jerusalem. Seven people were killed and three were injured in the incident. Four minutes after the attack began, the terrorist returned to his car and fled. After driving about 800 meters, he encountered a police car at the exit from the neighborhood to the Beit Hanina neighborhood. He got out of his car and shot at the police officers who were chasing him. The officers returned fire and killed him.
In a statement made by Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir while visiting the wounded in the hospital, he pledged to work to increase the number of citizens carrying weapons: "I want more weapons on the streets, so that Israeli citizens can protect themselves… That's why I instructed my ministry to do this, and here I also need the assistance of the Minister of Finance [Bezalel Smotrich], and I will also raise this in the cabinet – to bring more people to the Firearms Licensing Department. This will allow citizens who want and are suitable to carry weapons, and I also want to ease the criteria for this."
The event led Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to join Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir in asserting: "We see time and time again that armed and skilled citizens save lives." At the weekly cabinet meeting, Netanyahu stated: "We are expediting the provision of weapons to thousands of Israeli citizens across the country, including the rescue services… This will increase the response capacity."
In late April 2023, it was reported that, on Ben-Gvir's orders, it would soon be easier to obtain a firearms license. The planned measure was justified as necessary "in light of the security situation and the significant increase in the demand of Israelis to carry personal weapons." According to the new guidelines, additional groups would be exempted from physical interviews at firearms offices, such as discharged soldiers from fighting units, active reserve servicemen, police officers, and firefighters.
In late June 2023, some activists of the "Brothers to Arms" organization (a protest and volunteer organization founded by reserve servicemen as part of the protest movement against the legal reform announced in January 2023 by the thirty-seventh Israeli government) received a notice of the cancellation of their license to possess private firearms from the Firearms Licensing Department of the Ministry of National Security. Upon receiving the notice, the activists participating in the demonstrations were required to go to the police station and deposit their personal weapons. It was reported that the procedure was conducted in accordance with the Firearms Law and according to the broad discretion granted by legislation to licensing officials.
At the same time, the firearms of at least seven anti-government protest activists were confiscated, including officers in active reserve service and members of civilian security volunteer groups.
The Israel Police clarified that "as part of the police's activities to maintain public peace and security, the police examine the dangerousness of the holder of a firearms license in the police information systems at its disposal when recommending its renewal or cancellation. To the extent that information is received about the license holder, they are examined accordingly, balancing their occupational needs with maintaining public peace. We note that the police is a recommending body, while the body that approves the receipt or extension of the license is the Firearms Licensing Department at the Ministry of National Security."
The Ministry of National Security stated: "A firearms license is issued by the Israel Police. In the past four months, as part of an operation to reduce waiting times for a license to carry a private firearm, more than 14,073 conditional permits were issued. In the previous year, this figure was only 4,054. Along with encouraging the carrying of private firearms, the Firearms Licensing and Supervision Department strictly adheres to procedures and allows the carrying of private firearms subject to responsible use."
In early June 2023, it was reported that the Minister of National Security would approve a series of steps to change the criteria for requesting a firearms license. As part of the program, a license would be approved for anyone holding a combatant certificate, as well as for soldiers from Hesder [A yeshiva program which combines advanced Talmudic studies with military service in the IDF] under certain conditions. Additionally, MDA volunteers would be included for the first time in the "volunteers in the rescue forces" category.
In July 2023, a draft memorandum for the "Firearms Regulations" was submitted. The explanatory notes stated that "the policy of the Minister of National Security is that firearms will only be placed where necessary and in the hands of those who are qualified for it and have undergone the required training; this is to strengthen the personal security and sense of security of citizens and residents of the State of Israel." The proposal outlined new threshold conditions for firearms eligibility.
That same month, following the intervention of Minister Ben-Gvir's office, a special permit to carry firearms was granted to Jonathan Pollard. Pollard was convicted in the United States in 1987, as part of a plea bargain, for conspiring to provide security information to a foreign government. He was sentenced to life imprisonment, released under restrictive conditions in November 2015, and immigrated to Israel in December 2020.
Summary
The appointment of Itamar Ben-Gvir as Minister of National Security, alongside Bezalel Smotrich as Minister of Finance and Minister in the Ministry of Defense, resulted in effective control over a significant portion of Israel's central national security resources being placed in the hands of far-right movements – radical and extremist. In this way, a clear faction of the far right in Israel took control "from within" over national security resources, particularly in the allocation of firearms to citizens.
The minister's new policy heralded an expansive approach to firearm licensing for Israeli citizens (mainly Jews). Paradoxically, the demand for weapons increased considerably due to the failures of the very government in which the Minister of National Security served. The steps initiated during his term led to a real weakening of the police force, a decline in its prestige, a loosening of law enforcement on Arab streets within Israel, and a rise in Palestinian terrorism.
(The firearms licensing policy in Israel since The October 7, 2023, Massacre onward, will be surveyed in the following Part).