In the aftermath of Hamas's horrific terrorist attack on Oct. 7, Itamar Ben-Gvir, Israel's far-right minister of national security, keeps on pushing his Jewish supremacist agenda, risking new tensions and more violence between Israeli Jews and Palestinians. At the top of that agenda is loosening gun regulations to make it easier for Israeli citizens to acquire firearms and calling for the mass arming of Jews across Israel. According to Ben-Gvir, guns are essential for public safety and for preparing for a "scenario of a Guardian of the Walls 2.0," referring to the riots and intercommunal violence in Israel's mixed Jewish-Arab cities that erupted during national unrest in May 2021 over forced evictions of Palestinians in East Jerusalem and an Israeli military operation in Gaza.
With Israel now consumed by national rage, hostility and fear of Palestinians following Hamas's attack, the new gun policy—arming thousands of Israelis, including settlers—increases the risk of igniting this nightmare scenario.
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