Following the resignation of the Director of the Firearms Licensing Division, Israel Avisar, and the details revealed by the State Audit Committee last week, MK Gilad Kariv wrote to the Attorney General demanding that all licenses issued by entities without authority be revoked.
Ben-Gvir: "My policy and my statements that terrorists must be harmed is important"
In addition, Kariv appealed to the Speaker with another demand to immediately close the Knesset war room established to handle applications for weapons licensing. Kariv's first request was made two weeks ago and has yet to be answered.
Kariv: "The resignation of the head of the division is another layer in Minister Ben-Gvir's hostile takeover of the police and the professional echelon in his ministry. Minister Ben-Gvir is exploiting the Simchat Torah disaster and the war to promote problematic and dangerous policies while trampling on the rules of good governance."
Ben-Gvir: "Leftist Elements Against Saving Lives"
The Otzma Yehudit faction convened earlier today. Minister of National Security and Otzma Yehudit Chairman Itamar Ben-Gvir spoke at the beginning of the meeting and dealt with criticism of his policy regarding the granting of licenses to carry weapons.
National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir next to weapons distributed in Ashkelon, photo: Reuters
"Even before the war, with the understanding that weapons save lives, we did very large staff work in the field of firearms licensing," Ben-Gvir said. "When the war came, we knew we were right, when we said that wherever there are weapons, lives can be saved. If there were more weapons and more alert squads, there would be more life saving."
Ben-Gvir said, "In the past month and a half, more than 260,000 requests have been received from citizens seeking to protect themselves and their families. My policy within the ministry is to allow as many people as possible to get guns. If once permits were only given to 1 people a day, we went up to 500,1 and 700,<>, and the hand is still tilted."
According to him, a political campaign is being waged against his activity by his opponents. "People on the left are attacking dedicated and loyal public officials. The head of the Firearms Division contacted me in recent days after receiving a variety of pressures and threats."
Distribution of weapons to alert squads in the Upper Galilee (the subjects have no connection to the article), Photo: Eyal Margolin/Ginny
"We have opened alert classes for right and left, religious and secular, everywhere in the State of Israel. I say: We must allow as many people as possible to carry weapons. And this campaign against public servants, National Service girls, and National Security Ministry employees, who are all recruited to handle requests, is an immoral attack that harms the security of the State of Israel."
Ben-Gvir noted that the threshold of requirements, including criminal examinations, medical examinations and intelligence information, has not been lowered. "But we are leading policies that save people's lives," the minister noted. "This is the life of all of us, this is the policy that should guide all of us, to allow people to defend themselves anywhere in the country, because guns save lives."
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