Since the attack on October 7, it is now possible to obtain weapons in two weeks and sales to civilians have increased tenfold in certain weapons stores.
With a black velvet yarmulke on his head, Mashiar, an ultra-Orthodox Jew, came to buy a semi-automatic pistol in a weapons store in Jerusalem. Nearly a month ago, Israel slipped into a state of war following the Hamas attack on October 7. Since then, applications for permits to carry weapons have been made easier and ordinary citizens are scrambling to obtain a pistol.
Mashiar, who had never owned a gun before, explains that he lives in a ” dangerous place“, Or ” Arabs also live“. He admits to being afraid since the Hamas attack. An elderly man, Eliyahou, comes to stock up on ammunition.
“I’ve had a gun for a while. Thank God I haven’t had to use it until now. And I hope it stays that way, but I want to be ready!”
Eliyahu, resident of Jerusalemfranceinfo
The four and a half hour training course is still mandatory before purchasing such a weapon, but the time required to obtain it has been shortened by Israeli law, explains one of the sellers: ” It is now possible to receive the permit in two weeks, one month maximum. Whereas before, you had to wait at least a year!“.
Sales multiplied by ten
In this store, a gun costs on average 3,000 to 5,000 shekels, or a thousand euros. In just a few weeks, sales have since increased tenfold in this store. ” People are afraid, so they seek to defend themselves, because we are reaching a situation where we can no longer count on the police, because they are no longer sufficient.“, says Daniel, another seller.
Today, we really see a craze for buying weapons. On the one hand it should make me happy, but it makes me sad more than anything. This means that we are even less safe than before!
Daniel, salesman in an arms store in Jerusalemat franceinfo
There had been 38,000 requests for weapons permits in one year, in Israel in 2022, compared to 40,000 in just three weeks, since the October 7 attack.