Israel Wants to Make it Easier for Its Civilians To Carry Guns

Israel wants to make it easier for civilians to carry guns after two separate shootings by young Palestinians in East Jerusalem, which followed a deadly raid by Israeli security forces on Jenin in the occupied West Bank.

Over the weekend, Israel’s security cabinet said it would expand and speed up firearms licensing. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday said his government would “expand and expedite the issuing of weapons permits to thousands of Israeli civilians.”

Itamar Ben-Gvir, the ultranationalist Minister of National Security, said: "When civilians have guns, they can defend themselves." 

The security cabinet, which is part of Israel’s new right-wing government, also promised to expand Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank in retaliation for the attacks over the weekend.

The first shooting saw 7 Israelis killed and 3 injured close to a synagogue in occupied East Jerusalem on Friday, which was Holocaust Memorial Day. Another 2 people were injured in a second attack near the Old City on Saturday. A 21-year-old Palestinian gunman was shot and killed at the scene on Friday, while a 13-year-old boy was shot and taken to hospital after opening fire in the second incident. Israeli authorities have sealed the home of the 21-year-old and it is expected to be demolished, while the teenager’s home has also been sealed.

These attacks came after Israeli forces killed 9 Palestinians in a raid on Jenin refugee camp, including a 61-year-old woman, the deadliest single raid in the occupied West Bank in years. 

The new government, the most right-wing in Israel’s history, has been met with widespread resistance by many Israelis. 

A backlash over a bill aimed at judicial changes in the country has spilled over into large protests over four consecutive weekends, with tens of thousands of people taking to the streets in cities such as Tel Aviv. Some protesters also decried the government’s treatment of Palestinians.

Many in Israel fear the new government will undermine the power of the country’s highest court amid a long-running corruption trial involving three cases against Prime Minister Netanyahu. He denies all the allegations against him. 

The controversial judicial reform bill would allow the Israeli parliament, the Knesset, to override the Supreme Court's rulings, the country's highest judicial body that usually keeps the government in check. This rule change would mean that recent criminal convictions are no obstacle to serving in the government, and would allow Arye Dery, head of the ultra-Orthodox Shas party, who has been convicted for tax offences, to serve as interior and health minister in Netanyahu’s government.  

The plan to overhaul the judiciary system was criticised by Israeli civil society and opposition figures, after Netanyahu swept to victory in elections late last year after a year and a half out of office. 

Weekly mass protests and public petitions have been started by opposition figures, officials, professionals, and civil society organisations. Hundreds of workers in the tech sector held a one-hour strike in central Tel Aviv last week.

Other smaller protests have taken place in Jerusalem, Haifa, and Beersheba.

Netanyahu has described the three cases against him as politically motivated, and he has defended his move by saying that the majority of Israelis chose his government and voted for “security.”

Demonstrations are expected to grow in the coming days as more Israeli organisations call for protests and strikes to stop the bill.

Netanyahu has dismissed the protests, and last week he said, "Two months ago there was a huge demonstration, the mother of all demonstrations. Millions of people went into the streets in order to vote in the elections."