As a result of the war, 42,000 women in Israel have applied for a permit to own a gun, and so far 18,000 women have been granted a gun license, according to the country’s government.
Last August, Israel’s Defense Minister Ben Gvir said that the number of women who have the right to own a gun in Israel has increased by 88 percent in 7 months.
There is no legal right to personally carry firearms in Israel. Also, the country had strict gun control laws.
The application must be accompanied by valid reasons why a license to keep and carry a firearm is required, along with a medical certificate of mental and physical fitness.
And for each additional gun, government approval should be obtained separately. These licenses have to be renewed every 3 years.
It is in this context that after the Hamas terrorist attack on October 7, Israeli women have applied for gun licenses for the safety of themselves and their dependents.
This is three times higher than before the Hamas-Israeli war, according to the Israeli government.
Openly pledging that the government’s mission is to increase the number of civilians who own weapons and to build self-defense, Ben Quir introduced several relaxations of personal weapons laws upon his inauguration as Israel’s defense minister.
Since then, Israeli women have started applying more for gun permits.
In this case, the Israeli media reported that there are 100,000 armed Israeli civilians in the West Bank and that the Israeli government is issuing hundreds of gun permits per day.
Activists are concerned that more individual gun permits will lead to increased violence and murder in society, and that the Israeli government should take responsibility for individual safety.
