This follows the significant easing of the requirements to allow carrying a firearms license announced by the Ministry of National Security headed by Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir.
In the last month, 31,048 conditional weapons permits were issued to citizens who passed the new tests. Over 18,000 citizens exercised the approval they received, went through the full process, and purchased a gun.
In addition, the Firearms Licensing Division in the Ministry presented a very high figure of issuing approximately 1,700 weapons licenses on average every day since the beginning of November.
Compared to the corresponding periods in previous years, there has been a sharp increase in the granting of licenses, and during November 2022 the division issued on average of 94 conditional permits per day, and during November 2021 the division issued about 42 permits per day.
Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said that "the thorough staff work we carried out in the ministry in the months leading up to the war is showing results. The significant easing of the criteria means that hundreds of thousands of citizens who enter the circle of eligibility are purchasing weapons. These weapons, of course, do not come to replace the police, but we cannot station a policeman at every corner - and these weapons literally save lives. I call on everyone who meets the criteria and has not yet started the procedure to do so today. Arm yourself - and save lives."
The Ministry of National Security is aware that there are many applications awaiting approval and prioritizes the system's handling of applications submitted as needed, in order to issue a maximum number of approvals each day. Therefore, the public is called to be patient as the Ministry is constantly working to increase the output of the department and increase the number of approvals as well as removing obstacles and streamlining the procedure.