Palestinian authorities and institutions have issued strong warnings about the catastrophic consequences of the announcement by Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir regarding the expansion of arming settlers in occupied Jerusalem. Palestinian sources confirmed that the inclusion of hundreds of thousands of settlers on the list of those eligible to carry weapons represents a green light for committing more crimes against unarmed citizens.
The Jerusalem Governorate, in an official statement, considered this step part of systematic racist incitement, aiming to open the door for new bloody attacks in an already volatile situation. The Governorate explained that the decision includes settlers residing in settlement outposts located in the heart of densely populated Palestinian neighborhoods, which increases the pace of security risks for the indigenous population.
The Governorate stressed that the policy pursued by the current occupation government represents an open call for extrajudicial killings, and grants extremists official cover to practice violence. It pointed out that these trends are fully consistent with the extremist right-wing ideology adopted by the Israeli government, which is based on the exclusion of Palestinians and targeting their existence by all means.
Statistics issued by the Jerusalem Governorate revealed a bitter reality, where 140 martyrs have fallen in the city over the past five years, including about 70 children. Sources attributed this heavy toll to official incitement policies and systematic violence practiced by both occupation forces and settlers, especially in the absence of international accountability.
Reports confirmed that the incitement discourse led by extremist ministers in the occupation government, foremost among them Ben-Gvir, has directly contributed to fueling waves of violence against Palestinians. Since October 7, 2023, the pace of these attacks has seen an unprecedented escalation, with weapons being used as a tool to impose intimidation and forced displacement in various neighborhoods of Jerusalem.
Palestinian institutions believe that settler crimes are no longer mere individual or random incidents, but rather express a clear pattern of 'organized state terrorism'. The Governorate held the occupation government fully responsible for any security deterioration resulting from arming settlers and providing them with legal and security cover to carry out their attacks under army protection.
In a related context, the Palestinian side called on the international community, the Security Council, and the European Union to intervene immediately to stop these dangerous policies that violate the Geneva Conventions. Palestinian demands called for the necessity of disarming settlers and providing urgent international protection for the Palestinian people who face the Israeli killing and incitement machine daily.
Itamar Ben-Gvir had announced via social media platforms the qualification of 41 neighborhoods in occupied Jerusalem as areas whose residents are entitled to obtain firearm licenses. The extremist minister claimed that this measure aims to enhance what he described as 'personal security' for Israelis, ignoring the direct threats that these armed individuals pose to the lives of Palestinians.
Under this new decision, more than 300,000 additional settlers in Jerusalem will be able to apply for official weapon permits, which raises the number of armed individuals in the city to record levels. The targeted areas include very sensitive settlement outposts, among them those in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood, whose residents suffer from continuous attempts at displacement.
Israeli data indicated that Ben-Gvir's era has witnessed a boom in civilian armament, with more than 240,000 Israelis obtaining weapon licenses since the end of 2022. These figures reflect the systematic policy pursued by the Ministry of National Security in transforming the settler community into armed militias working alongside regular forces.
For his part, the head of the Palestinian National Council, Rawhi Fattouh, described this expansion of armament as a dangerous escalation and an open invitation to commit massacres. Fattouh explained that this political doctrine aims to unleash the settlers in Jerusalem and the holy sites, which poses a direct threat to Al-Aqsa Mosque and Palestinian properties that are constantly targeted.
Fattouh concluded his statements by warning that these policies undermine any remaining opportunities for achieving stability or reaching a just political solution, and push the region towards a comprehensive explosion. He affirmed that the occupation seeks, through force and racism, to entrench a new colonial reality aimed at changing Jerusalem's identity and displacing its indigenous residents through armed intimidation.
The policy of arming settlers grants extreme extremists a license to take the law into their own hands in line with their ideology based on hatred and racism.
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Palestinian warnings of 'organized terrorism' after decision to arm hundreds of thousands of settlers in Jerusalem