DaysofPal- Plans by Israeli far-right national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, to significantly expand firearm licenses for settlers have sparked warnings from Palestinian activists and organizations that the move could lead to increased violence and forced displacement of Palestinians in the occupied territories.
Ben-Gvir recently announced a policy to broaden gun licensing eligibility to approximately 300,000 additional settlers living in Jerusalem neighborhoods, a step critics say is part of a broader government strategy to expand the armed settler force across the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem.
According to the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, the new policy would allow residents of 41 Jewish neighborhoods in Jerusalem to qualify for firearm permits.
Ben-Gvir said settlers across all Jewish neighborhoods in the city would be eligible to apply for weapons licenses under the expanded program.
If implemented fully, the decision would dramatically increase the number of armed settlers in Jerusalem.
Some of the targeted areas include sensitive settlement outposts such as those near the Palestinian neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah, where Palestinian residents have faced repeated eviction attempts.
Israeli data indicates that the number of armed settlers has risen sharply since October 2023, increasing from around 170,000 to roughly 300,000 amid an unprecedented surge in applications for gun permits.
The Israeli Ministry of National Security reportedly received about 395,000 applications to possess firearms since the start of the war, approving more than 162,000 licenses so far.
Palestinian activists warn that the policy could lead to a further escalation of violence against Palestinian communities.
Jerusalem activist Mohammed Abu al-Hummus said the move reflects a systematic effort by the Israeli government to expand the presence of weapons among settlers as part of broader ideological and settlement objectives in the city.
He pointed to daily settler attacks on Palestinian villages across the West Bank and to the displacement of Bedouin communities in the Jordan Valley by settler groups seeking to establish new outposts.
According to Abu al-Hummus, the growing violence is not the result of isolated incidents but part of an organized activity that could increasingly affect Palestinian neighborhoods and Bedouin communities around Jerusalem, including areas such as Khan al-Ahmar.
“In Jerusalem today, it is difficult to distinguish between a settler, a police officer, or an Israeli soldier; all of them carry weapons directed at unarmed Palestinian civilians,” he said.
Local data cited by activists suggests that about 140 Palestinians have been killed by settler gunfire over the past five years, including roughly 70 children.
Anti-settlement activist Abdullah Abu Rahma said the government’s plan effectively aims to transform settlers into armed militias operating alongside Israeli military forces.
He said the increased number of weapons in settler hands has already contributed to escalating attacks against Palestinian communities in the West Bank. According to Abu Rahma, six Palestinians were killed this week during settler attacks on villages and towns.
Ben-Gvir has previously overseen the distribution of weapons to settlers since the outbreak of the Gaza war in October 2023, including personally supervising the handover of firearms to civilians.
Abu Rahma warned that the growing presence of armed settlers is being used to pressure Palestinians to leave their land through organized assaults on villages involving arson, shootings, property destruction, and killings.
International media reports have also highlighted the growing integration between Israeli security forces and settler groups. An analysis by Foreign Policy magazine described Israeli security structure in the West Bank as a hybrid system combining the army, police, and armed settler units.
A separate report in The New Yorker found that a significant number of male settlers in the West Bank serve as Israeli military reservists and regularly train with the army, strengthening ties between settler communities and the military establishment.
Meanwhile, Haaretz has reported that settler attacks against Palestinians are not isolated incidents but part of a recurring pattern described by the newspaper as “Jewish terrorism” aimed at forcing Palestinians off their land.
Palestinian officials warn that the expansion of armed settler groups could have severe consequences for Palestinians living in Jerusalem and across the West Bank, increasing fears of further violence, displacement, and the expansion of settlements.
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