Drizzt
Member
Interior Ministry vows crackdown on illegal guns
By Mazal Mualem, Haaretz Correspondent
Interior Minister Avraham Poraz declared war Tuesday on the phenomenon of possessing a firearm without a permit, instructing ministry officials to furnish him with a list of some 26,000 individuals who are illegally carrying weapons.
Poraz intends to initiate indictments against persons who do not settle the matter of their weapons permits, and to ask the courts to impose jail sentences on offenders. By law, the offense carries a punishment of one year in prison.
"A situation in which 26,000 civilians are thumbing their noses at the law and carrying weapons without a permit is scandalous and must be stopped," Poraz said.
Poraz isn't the first minister to attempt to tackle the problem, which has been stemmed in recent years following enforcement campaigns initiated by former interior ministers Natan Sharansky and Eli Yishai.
Some two years ago, the number of individuals in possession of arms without a permit was estimated at around 70,000. Today, out of the approximate 267,000 gun carriers in the country, some 26,000 do not have valid permits.
Last July, when estimates put the number of individuals in possession of weapons without a permit at 45,000, the Interior Ministry conducted a widespread enforcement operation, accompanied by an aggressive media campaign, warning of the initiation of criminal proceedings against such persons.
The Interior Ministry is aware that in most cases, persons bearing arms without a valid permit are unaware they are breaking the law, as most cases involve very old weapons elderly individuals who still have their weapons from World War II, weapons inherited from relatives, weapons given as gifts, reserve army officers who purchased a weapon while serving as career soldiers but no longer meet the necessary criteria for a permit following their discharge, or citizens who wished to avoid paying the annual license fee (NIS 135) and took advantage of the Interior Ministry's slack enforcement on the matter over the years.
http://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/p...1&subContrassID=7&sbSubContrassID=0&listSrc=Y
By Mazal Mualem, Haaretz Correspondent
Interior Minister Avraham Poraz declared war Tuesday on the phenomenon of possessing a firearm without a permit, instructing ministry officials to furnish him with a list of some 26,000 individuals who are illegally carrying weapons.
Poraz intends to initiate indictments against persons who do not settle the matter of their weapons permits, and to ask the courts to impose jail sentences on offenders. By law, the offense carries a punishment of one year in prison.
"A situation in which 26,000 civilians are thumbing their noses at the law and carrying weapons without a permit is scandalous and must be stopped," Poraz said.
Poraz isn't the first minister to attempt to tackle the problem, which has been stemmed in recent years following enforcement campaigns initiated by former interior ministers Natan Sharansky and Eli Yishai.
Some two years ago, the number of individuals in possession of arms without a permit was estimated at around 70,000. Today, out of the approximate 267,000 gun carriers in the country, some 26,000 do not have valid permits.
Last July, when estimates put the number of individuals in possession of weapons without a permit at 45,000, the Interior Ministry conducted a widespread enforcement operation, accompanied by an aggressive media campaign, warning of the initiation of criminal proceedings against such persons.
The Interior Ministry is aware that in most cases, persons bearing arms without a valid permit are unaware they are breaking the law, as most cases involve very old weapons elderly individuals who still have their weapons from World War II, weapons inherited from relatives, weapons given as gifts, reserve army officers who purchased a weapon while serving as career soldiers but no longer meet the necessary criteria for a permit following their discharge, or citizens who wished to avoid paying the annual license fee (NIS 135) and took advantage of the Interior Ministry's slack enforcement on the matter over the years.
http://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/p...1&subContrassID=7&sbSubContrassID=0&listSrc=Y
