Residents of 5 more localities to be eligible for gun permits, Ben Gvir announces

By Sam Sokol 1 September 2025, 9:21 am

1 Edit

Sam Sokol is a former political correspondent at The Times of Israel. He was previously a reporter for the Jerusalem Post, Jewish Telegraphic Agency and Haaretz. He is the author of "Putin’s Hybrid War and the Jews"

National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir leads an Otzma Yehudit faction meeting at the Knesset on July 7, 2025. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir announces the addition of five additional cities and local councils to the list of localities whose residents are eligible for a private firearms license. In a statement, the ultranationalist politician states that residents of Kiryat Gat, Kiryat Malachi, Gan Yavne, the Megiddo Regional Council and Tel Mond — some some 100,000 people — will now be eligible for such a permit.

“The reform we are leading has already saved many lives and has proven itself in the field. It is designed to enable law-abiding citizens to protect themselves and their communities,” says far-right lawmaker Ben Gvir.

In a statement, Ben Gvir’s office says that the decision was made in light of an “increase in security incidents across the country” and came after “professional and thorough staff work” by police and the National Security Ministry. Since the beginning of Ben Gvir’s efforts to increase gun ownership, the government has issued around 230,000 new firearms licenses, it says, calling on people to “check your eligibility” because “a gun in the right hands saves lives.”

Israelis have submitted over 403,000 requests for firearms licenses since October 7, 2023, over half of which have been conditionally granted, the National Security Ministry informed the Knesset National Security Committee in June.

Requests for gun permits surged following Hamas’s massive attack on southern Israel. Last March, Ben Gvir celebrated the approval of 100,000 new gun licenses since October 7, claiming that putting more weapons on the streets has made Israel safer. Women’s groups have decried the rising number of guns in Israeli homes, saying it poses a risk to victims of domestic violence.

In the wake of October 7, the National Security Ministry also granted temporary authority to Ben Gvir’s personal staff appointees, Knesset employees, and others to approve gun license applications. Several were subsequently investigated by police on suspicion that the ministry inappropriately issued firearms permits.

Last November, the High Court of Justice said that licenses were issued “seemingly without authority.”