Israelis invest in firepower as knife attacks rise

[lostinblue 1,989]

Israelis invest in firepower as knife attacks rise

Tel Aviv (AFP) - Cars are double- and even triple-parked outside a gun shop in Israel's coastal city of Tel Aviv. Inside, customers jostle each other as they wait to be served.

Israelis fearful of a rising number of knife and other attacks by Palestinians are increasingly turning to firepower for personal protection.

Seven Israelis and around 30 Palestinians have been killed in an upsurge of unrest since October 1, with many of the attackers wielding blades.

One man at the store does not even bother to remove his motorbike helmet or interrupt a call on his mobile as he orders and pays for a box of bullets.

"The last time the shop was so busy was probably in the 1970s. I've never before seen such stress or panic," says owner Iftash Ben-Yehuda.

He is now having to ration some of his wares, estimating demand to be about four times higher than normal.

"There's been a shortage of tear gas grenades in the country for a few days, so I limit them to two per customer and give priority to women," the 37-year-old tells AFP.

Smith & Wesson, Glock and Israeli-made Jericho models top the handgun sales league, costing anything between 2,000 and 4,000 shekels ($500-$1,000, 450-900 euros), he says.

View gallery

A woman on a bus reacts after a knife-wielding man stabbed and wounded a woman near Jerusalem's …

He has decided not to charge for weapons training "to participate in the public security effort", Ben-Yehuda says.

- 'A game-changer' -

"In a knife attack or a shooting, an armed and well-trained civilian can be a game-changer, neutralising a terrorist in seconds. This can mean the difference between an attack with one or more wounded and one with several people dead."

Under Israeli law, apart from members of the police and forces and private security contractors, only civilians living or working in areas deemed at risk, such as Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank and Jerusalem, are allowed guns.

Out of a population of 8.5 million, some 260,000 Israelis hold gun licences.

However, a spokesman for the public security ministry told AFP that in the past 10 days, the number of gun licence applications has risen "by tens of percent".

Israelis would appear to be actively responding to appeals by officials to be vigilant and stay on the alert.

A woman is treated by medics at the site where a knife-wielding man stabbed and wounded a woman near …

Exceptionally, security guards have been asked no longer to leave their firearms at the workplace, and civilians with licences have been urged to keep their weapons on them -- and make sure they are visible.

Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat is setting an example.

The former paratrooper, armed with an automatic weapon and spare ammo, invited television crews to join him as he patrolled flashpoint areas of Arab east Jerusalem in his SUV.

- 'Get the Glock' -

Israeli forces took the east of the Holy City in the 1967 Six-Day War, and later annexed it.

In the West Bank, most Jews -- men and women -- carry guns when they come out from behind the barriers and barbed wire circling their settlements.

"Last week, when my neighbour was attacked by young masked Palestinians who stoned her car and the army took 20 minutes to arrive, I said to myself 'Right, now's the time to get the Glock from the gun safe'," Aviva Yisraeli, a mother living in the Tekoa settlement in the southern West Bank, told AFP.

Since then, whenever she drives anywhere the pistol is close to hand.

Not everyone has welcomed the call to arms.

Lawyer Smadar Ben Natan, a leader of a coalition of anti-firearms groups called Gun-free Kitchen Tables, says a series of welcome regulations has halved the number of civilians allowed to bear arms over the past decade.

She believes it would be "very undesirable" if such policies go by the wayside "at the whim of a temporary situation".

The lawyer cites to AFP the case of a Jew stabbing another Jew on Tuesday in the mistaken belief that he was an Arab.

"In the long run it is obvious that more weapons creates more danger, not more security but the opposite," she says.

"Encouraging civilians to use firearms on the street could lead to very unfortunate results; it is not always easy to tell who is a terrorist or not."

http://news.yahoo.com/israelis-invest-firepower-knife-attacks-rise-035421290.html

[Expat1 971]

"Annexed"

SMH

[Teddy B 17,252]

Seems Israel has some pretty strict gun laws and very few people (approx 3%) own guns.

Under Israeli law, apart from members of the police and forces and private security contractors, only civilians living or working in areas deemed at risk, such as Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank and Jerusalem, are allowed guns.

Out of a population of 8.5 million, some 260,000 Israelis hold gun licences.

Also good to see some common sense is still in place.

Lawyer Smadar Ben Natan, a leader of a coalition of anti-firearms groups called Gun-free Kitchen Tables, says a series of welcome regulations has halved the number of civilians allowed to bear arms over the past decade.

She believes it would be "very undesirable" if such policies go by the wayside "at the whim of a temporary situation".

The lawyer cites to AFP the case of a Jew stabbing another Jew on Tuesday in the mistaken belief that he was an Arab.

"In the long run it is obvious that more weapons creates more danger, not more security but the opposite," she says.

"Encouraging civilians to use firearms on the street could lead to very unfortunate results; it is not always easy to tell who is a terrorist or not."

Edited October 16, 2015 by Teddy B

[Boiler 46,337]

Death to the Infidels

God is Great

[decocker 7,198]

Death to the Infidels

God is Great

[Boiler 46,337]

Palestinians have torched a Jewish holy site in the West Bank city of Nablus, amid soaring tensions with Israel.
Rioters set fire to a tomb revered as that of the biblical figure Joseph. The site, where Jews go to pray, was badly damaged.
It came hours after Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu called on the Palestinian leadership to stop a wave of attacks.
Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas condemned the arson and said the site would be repaired.
Elsewhere in the occupied West Bank, a Palestinian disguised as a news photographer stabbed and moderately wounded an Israeli soldier, the Israeli military said.
It said the Palestinian attacker was shot dead in the incident in the Jewish settlement of Kiryat Arba, next to Hebron.

BBC

[decocker 7,198]

i just don't understand why palestinians are so upset.

[Boiler 46,337]

Lots of knifophobics it seems.

That would upset anyone.

[lostinblue 1,989]

Palestinian 'terrorist' shot dead after ramming car into Israeli police officers in Jerusalem

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-05-20/palestinian-driver-shot-dead-after-ramming-attack/6485050

1 Israeli killed, 17 injured in two run-over terrorist attacks

https://www.rt.com/news/202431-jerusalem-attack-car-israel/

Jewish Man Dies as Rocks Pelt His Car in East Jerusalem

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/15/world/middleeast/israel-west-bank-violence.html?_r=0

No ability to get a gun does not stop folks from killing... Knife, car, rocks....

Evil will find a way to destroy.

[Boiler 46,337]

rocks?

Did you mean Rockets?

[decocker 7,198]

Palestinian 'terrorist' shot dead after ramming car into Israeli police officers in Jerusalem

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-05-20/palestinian-driver-shot-dead-after-ramming-attack/6485050

1 Israeli killed, 17 injured in two run-over terrorist attacks

https://www.rt.com/news/202431-jerusalem-attack-car-israel/

Jewish Man Dies as Rocks Pelt His Car in East Jerusalem

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/15/world/middleeast/israel-west-bank-violence.html?_r=0

No ability to get a gun does not stop folks from killing... Knife, car, rocks....

Evil will find a way to destroy.

shirley you meant evil will find a way to annex.

[Ban Hammer 13,696]

need to ban those assault knives!

[lostinblue 1,989]

need to ban those assault knives!

In the past month, eight Israelis were killed in Palestinian attacks, most of them stabbings.

[decocker 7,198]

need to ban those assault knives!

start here:

[lostinblue 1,989]

Scenes from an Intifada

I just wanted to share my feelings about whats going on here in Israel right now.

Ive lived here pretty much all of my adult life. I got married here, all my children have been born here, all of my professional life Ive been here. Ive lived through terror waves in the past, most notably the days of bus bombings in the mid 90s after the signing of the Oslo Accords. Back in those days, I actually took the bus to work almost every day in Jerusalem.

Im not sure if its worse now, certainly the casualty count is much lower. Its almost impossible to stop a bomber without prior knowledge and you certainly cant do it with a pair of hand made nunchaku or an umbrella. But what we didnt have back then is the 24/7 minute by minute information overload of Twitter/Facebook etc.

Every argument in the street is assumed to be the start of terror attack. A couple teenagers get in a fist fight by a gas station, the news feeds light up about a possible stabbing. Crazy things are happening here. Some of them are uplifting, how everyday citizens are looking out for each other and coming to each others aid. Many of the terror attempts have been stopped by passersby, either with real weapons or with contrived ones. We are a pack, not a herd as Instapundit likes to say. Sometimes this ends up as somewhat humorous. One attack was stopped when someone pulled out a pair of home made nunchaku and prevented a terrorist from stealing the gun of a soldier that had been stabbed. This morning a terrorist was subdued with an umbrella grabbed by an office worker who ran out to assist. A second terrorist was bludgeoned with a selfie-stick until a police officer was able to shoot him.

At the end of the day, though, it takes its toll. People dont go out to the market, they dont go to the mall, they avoid public places. Others feel the need for revenge, there have been several attacks on Arabs by Jews who are fed up with the situation.

Im grateful that I own a handgun and have it on me whenever I walk out the door of my house. My wife owns one and my eldest son, who just finished the army is in the midst of getting his carry permit. Were lucky that we have the means to defend ourselves. I find my friends are more comfortable sitting near me when were out, or are only willing to come to events if they know I will be there with my sidearm.

I have no illusions that most of the world cares about what is happening to the Jews in the Jewish state. When newspaper headlines talk about dead Palestinians without mentioning that they were shot while committing terror attacks only reinforces our feelings for international isolation and the knowledge that, like in years past, that the only people who will look out for the interests of the Jews is the Jews.

I will finish of with gratitude to the Lord for keeping me and mine safe from harm and asking all to, in the words of the Psalmist:

Pray for the peace of Jerusalem and may those who love it be safe. (Psalms 122:6)

http://pjmedia.com/vodkapundit/2015/10/16/scenes-from-an-intifada/