I’m not sure Israelis are going to take the advice of U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, who pretty much told them they shouldn’t defend themselves from knife attacks from Palestinians, seriously–and they shouldn’t (via PJ Media) [emphasis mine]:
Appearing at a press conference in Madrid with his Spanish counterpart, Kerry again used the recent spate of violence in Jerusalem to call for a two-state solution.“Security and diplomacy go hand in hand. There is not a time for one and then the other, really there is an importance to both. We want to see calm restored and we want to see the violence stop. And I think everybody in Israel and in the region would like to see both of those things happen,” Kerry said.
“We continue to urge everybody to exercise restraint and restrain from any kind of self-help in terms of the violence, and Israel has every right in the world to protect its citizens, as it has been, from random acts of violence. But in my conversations with the prime minister, as well as with King Abdullah and the foreign minister of Jordan, they have expressed the desire to try to see this process be able to find a way of making certain that everybody is clear about what is happening with respect to the Temple Mount.”
Kerry added that “Israel has made it clear to me that they do not intend to and have not changed the status quo, and I think it’s important for me to meet with the prime minister and talk about the road ahead.”
Right now, Israeli-Palestinian relations are becoming tenser by the day, as innocent Israelis have become victims of almost daily knife attacks. Some shootings have occurred as well. As a result, the Israeli government has eased its restrictions on the permit process for firearms in the country. One must have a permit to carry a handgun in Israel, and the applicant must give a justifiable cause as well. There is no explicit right to bear arms in Israeli law. PJ added that the internal security ministry’s phone service “collapsed,” as thousands of Israelis called to apply for a firearm permit. And it’s not just firearms that Israelis are buying for self-defense (via WSJ):
Gun-store owner Itzhak Mizrahi has sold out of canisters of tear gas and electric stun guns after weeks of stabbing attacks by Palestinians against Israelis have prompted many to arm themselves.“Everybody is afraid,” said Mr. Mizrahi, as he sold a customer a Glock 9x19mm pistol for 4,200 shekels ($1,095). “If somebody comes at you with a knife, you don’t want to take a chance about it.”
As the bloodshed that has left eight Israelis and at least 35 Palestinians dead—including at least 18 suspected assailants that Israeli forces have killed—shows no signs of easing, civilians across Israel are dusting off old guns and buying new ones to defend themselves