Ben-Gvir Expands Gun Licences to 11 More West Bank Settlements Days Before Israeli Elections

Itamar Ben-Gvir has approved the expansion of gun licences to residents of 11 additional settlements and outposts in the northern occupied West Bank, according to a report by Israel's Channel 14 on Thursday, days before parliamentary elections set for 27 October.

The decision extends a firearms program the National Security Minister calls the "arming revolution," which his ministry says is meant to let settlers defend themselves and their communities. Under the expansion, residents of the newly included settlements can apply for gun licences if they meet criteria set by Ben-Gvir's ministry.

"We are continuing the arming revolution and expanding this reform to include the new settlements we have established in the northern West Bank," Ben-Gvir was quoted as saying by Channel 14.

Yossi Dagan, head of the Northern West Bank Settlements Council, welcomed the move, saying settlers with combat or reserve military experience need weapons to defend their families, and calling the northern West Bank a "strategic defensive line" for Israel.

The expansion lands in the middle of a documented campaign of settler violence against Palestinians in the West Bank, including assaults on farmers, land seizures and attacks intended to drive residents from their homes, a pattern Occupation Watch has tracked across multiple incidents this year.

Security officials say they have lost control

Israeli security officials told Haaretz they expect extremist settlers to escalate attacks, seize land and establish new illegal outposts if Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's governing bloc loses the election, in an effort to lock in facts on the ground before any new government can act to remove outposts.

A security source familiar with the assessments did not mince words.

"Anyone who tells you there is control is lying. The army, Shin Bet and police have lost control of the area. They are running from one location to another chasing rioters. The problem is that no real effort is being made to regain control."

Military chief Eyal Zamir convened a meeting Tuesday with senior security officials to address the escalating violence and election-period risk. According to sources familiar with the discussions, the meeting produced no significant new decisions. Officers within the military's Central Command reportedly criticized the absence of representatives from Netanyahu's office, Defence Minister Israel Katz and the National Security Council, arguing the problem required direct political intervention rather than another internal assessment. One source described the session as little more than an exercise in recording a security assessment.

Defence Minister Katz has separately discontinued the use of administrative detention against Israeli settlers, according to sources familiar with the security situation, with the military and Shin Bet said to be preparing exclusion orders as an alternative tool. Military officials are reportedly reinforcing troop deployments and requesting additional Border Police personnel in areas where violent settler groups are known to operate, even as officers privately question why no preventive plan exists to act before attacks occur rather than after.