Israeli women rush to buy weapons after October 7 attacks

As many Israelis grapple with feelings of insecurity following the unprecedented October 7 Hamas attack, the number of women applying for gun permits has skyrocketed, while feminist groups have criticized the rush to arms.

According to security ministry data, 42,000 gun license applications have been submitted by women since the attack, of which 18,000 have been approved, more than triple the number of licenses held by women before. the war.

The surge was made possible by the relaxation of gun laws under Israel's right-wing government and its far-right Security Minister, Itamar Ben Gvir.

More than 15,000 civilian women now own guns in Israel and the occupied West Bank, and 10,000 of them are enrolled in mandatory training, according to the ministry.

“I never thought I would buy a weapon or get a permit, but since October 7, things have changed a little,” political science professor Limor Gonen told AFP during a firearms class. weapons at a shooting range in the West Bank settlement of Ariel. .

The October 7 attack that sparked the war left 1,194 dead in Israel, most of them civilians, according to an AFP report based on official Israeli figures.

Israel's retaliatory offensive has killed at least 37,431 people in Gaza, also mostly civilians, according to the territory's Health Ministry.

“We were all targeted (on Oct. 7) and I don't want to be caught by surprise, so I'm trying to defend myself,” Gonen said after the course, a mandatory step to obtaining a permit.

– 100,000 armed civilians –

While the immediate trigger for the rise in arms purchases was the Hamas attack, Ben Gvir had already committed to reforming gun laws when he became security minister at the end of 2022.

He promised to increase the number of civilians holding weapons and “increase the capacity for self-defense.”

Under Ben Gvir, the process of obtaining a firearms permit was accelerated, with Israeli media reporting that immediately after the Hamas attack, authorities were often granting hundreds of permits per day.

Eligibility criteria for owning a firearm in Israel now include being a citizen or permanent resident over 18 years of age, having basic proficiency in Hebrew, and a medical certificate.

The extensive list of requirements makes it nearly impossible for non-Jews to obtain a permit.

In March, Ben Gvir, who is himself a settler in the West Bank, praised the number of civilian gun owners surpassing the 100,000 mark, while showing off his own weapon at a rally.

But his rush to put deadly weapons into the hands of ordinary Israelis has also drawn criticism.

The Gun Free Kitchen Tables Coalition, an Israeli initiative founded by feminist activists, has condemned the civilian arms race.

It is “a strategy of far-right settlers to consider the arming of women as a feminist act,” a spokesperson for the group of 18 organizations told AFP.

“The increase in weapons in civilian space leads to an increase in violence and murders against women. It is time for the State to understand that individual security is its responsibility.”

– 'Safer' –

Community leader Yahel Reznik, 24, said she now felt “much safer” in Ariel, located three kilometers north of the Palestinian town of Salfit.

“Thanks to my training, I will be able to defend myself and protect others” from an attack, she told AFP.

Violence in the West Bank, which was already on the rise before the war, has increased since October 7.

At least 549 Palestinians have been killed by settlers and Israeli troops in the West Bank since the start of the Gaza war, according to the Palestinian Authority.

Palestinian attacks have killed at least 14 Israelis, according to an AFP count based on official Israeli figures.

The increase in gun ownership is not limited to West Bank settlers. In the Israeli coastal town of Netanya, just north of Tel Aviv, Corine Nissim said she never leaves her home without her gun.

The 42-year-old English teacher accompanied her three children to the park with a 9mm Smith & Wesson sticking out of the back of her pants.

“After October 7, I think like most people in Israel, I realized that the only person I can trust is myself,” she told AFP , adding that he bought a weapon so as not to feel “helpless”.

“The worst scenario that went through my mind was that, of course, terrorists attack me and my family in our own home,” the mother said.

Her decision to own a gun initially surprised some residents of the beach town known for its tranquility and safety, she said.

“People looked at me and said, 'It's so surreal to see you like that with a gun and with the baby,'” Nissim said.

But, she added, others began to agree with her and said they would follow suit.

“A lot of women told me, 'I'm going to do it. I'm going to get a gun, too.'”

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