Gun permit rules relaxed for Shin Bet, Mossad workers
State nixes psych evaluation for national security employees, shooting range owners
Employees of the Shin Bet and Mossad security agencies will be exempt from a psychological examination prior to obtaining a weapons permit, the Knesset Internal Affairs and Environment Committee ruled on Sunday.
The decision followed a request by the Public Security Ministry, which asked that all government workers be allowed to skip the examination. The Justice Ministry opposed the blanket exemptions.
The committee decided to relax the restriction, but only for employees of the security agencies and owners of shooting ranges.
On November 20, Public Security Minister Yitzhak Aharonovitch approved measures to ease gun permit laws overall in what he said was an effort to restore a feeling of safety among the public following a series of terror attacks that hit the country.
The temporary regulations allow security company employees to take their weapons home with them at the end of their shifts. The move, which remains in effect until late February, reverses a ban against the practice put in place last year after a number of domestic homicides were committed by security guards with guns they had taken home.
In addition, the pool of communities whose residents are eligible to receive gun permits will be expanded. Veterans of elite IDF units, reservist officers, former policemen, and former Shin Bet security service or airport security personnel will also be able to receive a license.
Israel has strict gun control regulations and as a general rule only citizens who can show a real need for owning a weapon are eligible to apply for a license. Residents of West Bank settlements are usually able to apply for a handgun license for self-defense.
