Number of Armed Israeli Settlers in West Bank Stands at About 100,000

Israeli Minister of National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir speaks to bystanders as he walks to the site of a reported attack in a settler neighborhood in Israeli-annexed East Jerusalem on January 27, 2023. (AFP)
Israeli Minister of National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir speaks to bystanders as he walks to the site of a reported attack in a settler neighborhood in Israeli-annexed East Jerusalem on January 27, 2023. (AFP)
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Number of Armed Israeli Settlers in West Bank Stands at About 100,000

Israeli Minister of National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir speaks to bystanders as he walks to the site of a reported attack in a settler neighborhood in Israeli-annexed East Jerusalem on January 27, 2023. (AFP)
Israeli Minister of National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir speaks to bystanders as he walks to the site of a reported attack in a settler neighborhood in Israeli-annexed East Jerusalem on January 27, 2023. (AFP)

Israeli anti-violence associations have raised the alarm on the consequences of government plans for easing restrictions on settlers’ gun ownership and said that such a move will lead to more grief and hostility for generations to come.

“A previous government led by Benjamin Netanyahu took decisions to facilitate granting arms licenses in 2018, and the result was an increase in violence and murder, especially within families and against women,” said Rela Mazali, the co-founder and project coordinator of Gun Free Kitchen Tables (GFKT).

GFKT is an NGO that operates for stricter gun control and small arms disarmament.

“Data from homeland security for the year 2021 indicates that 12 people committed suicide with a licensed weapon,” said Mazali, adding that in the same year, 14 women were shot dead, including three Jewish women.

According to a recent report published by Haaretz, 86 of the 100 towns in which the percentage of those already licensed is high are settlements in the West Bank.

In settlements like Adora, Kiryat Netafim and Neghot, a third of the residents carry weapons.

Data collected by the National Security Ministry, headed by Itamar Ben-Gvir, showed that the percentage of licensed weapon holders is meager in Arab towns, where unlicensed weapons are rife and sold on the black market at exorbitant prices.

Moreover, it turns out that settlements established by the Israeli government in the West Bank are also characterized by a high rate of gun owners.

In Ariel, a settlement established in Nablus, the percentage of licensed weapon holders reached 9.2%.

In Maale Adumim, a settlement established in southern Jerusalem, 6% of residents are licensed weapon holders.

Meanwhile, in bigger cities, like Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and Haifa, the rates are much lower standing at 1.8% at most.

About 148,000 Israeli settlers and citizens currently hold a weapon license. This number does not include security personnel, soldiers, police and guards.



Israeli Military: 5 Soldiers Killed in Combat in South Lebanon

Israeli Iron Dome air defense system fires to intercept rockets that were launched from Lebanon, as seen from Haifa, northern Israel, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
Israeli Iron Dome air defense system fires to intercept rockets that were launched from Lebanon, as seen from Haifa, northern Israel, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
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Israeli Military: 5 Soldiers Killed in Combat in South Lebanon

Israeli Iron Dome air defense system fires to intercept rockets that were launched from Lebanon, as seen from Haifa, northern Israel, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
Israeli Iron Dome air defense system fires to intercept rockets that were launched from Lebanon, as seen from Haifa, northern Israel, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)

Five Israeli soldiers were killed and 16 others wounded in combat in southern Lebanon in recent weeks, the Israeli military said in a statement on Thursday.

Hezbollah leader Naim Kassem said in a speech aired Wednesday that the Lebanese group is open for ceasefire negotiations only once “the enemy stops its aggression.”

His speech marked the 40-day mourning period since former Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah was assassinated in Beirut.

Hezbollah began firing into Israel on Oct. 8, 2023, in solidarity with Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Since the conflict erupted, more than 3,000 people have been killed and some 13,600 wounded in Lebanon, the Health Ministry reported.