Jerusalem Governorate: Arming colonists is racist incitement and dangerous step to escalate crimes against Palestinians

The Jerusalem Governorate, in a statement reported by WAFA on March 9, 2026, condemned an announcement by the Israeli occupation’s Minister of National Security, Itamar Ben-Gvir, to expand the issuance of firearm licenses to residents of Israeli colonial settlements in occupied Jerusalem.

“JERUSALEM, March 9, 2026, WAFA — The Jerusalem Governorate condemned the announcement by the Israeli occupation’s Minister of National Security, Itamar Ben-Gvir, to expand the issuance of firearm licenses to residents of Israeli colonial settlements in occupied Jerusalem”

WAFA Agency

The governorate described the move as racist incitement and an extremely dangerous measure that could pave the way for further crimes against Palestinian residents.

It said the policy constitutes official and public incitement to murder and other unlawful acts and grants extremist colonists a license to take the law into their own hands in line with an extremist ideology rooted in hatred and racism against Palestinians.

The governorate said that over the past five years more than 140 Palestinians in Jerusalem have been killed.

It said nearly half of them were children and attributed those deaths to official incitement policies and the systematic violence carried out by occupation forces and colonists.

“JERUSALEM, March 9, 2026, WAFA — The Jerusalem Governorate condemned the announcement by the Israeli occupation’s Minister of National Security, Itamar Ben-Gvir, to expand the issuance of firearm licenses to residents of Israeli colonial settlements in occupied Jerusalem”

WAFA Agency

The governorate explicitly blamed escalation of incitement by Israeli ministers, including Itamar Ben-Gvir, for directly fueling violence against Palestinians, particularly since October 7, 2023.

It argued that the recent surge in colonists' crimes shows the attacks are part of a pattern of organized state terrorism for which the Israeli occupation government bears full responsibility.

The governorate said that responsibility is reinforced by policies arming colonists and granting them political, security, and legal cover to impose facts on the ground and carry out forced displacement of Palestinian residents.

The governorate called on the international community — including the UN Security Council, the European Union, the United Nations and its agencies, and states party to the Geneva Conventions — to fulfill their legal and moral responsibilities.

“JERUSALEM, March 9, 2026, WAFA — The Jerusalem Governorate condemned the announcement by the Israeli occupation’s Minister of National Security, Itamar Ben-Gvir, to expand the issuance of firearm licenses to residents of Israeli colonial settlements in occupied Jerusalem”

WAFA Agency

It demanded immediate measures to disarm colonists in accordance with UN Security Council Resolution 904 and to end the support and protection provided by the Israeli government to these armed groups to safeguard Palestinian civilians and halt the escalating violence.

Israeli media reported that around 300,000 people living in 41 different neighborhoods in Jerusalem would become eligible for firearm licenses under the announced policy.

Ben-Gvir said residents of all Jewish neighborhoods in the city would be eligible to obtain licenses.

The article does not detail how or when the expanded licensing would be implemented.