MK Almog Cohen (Otzma Yehudit) responded on Sunday to criticism that the new government has not been able to stop terrorist attacks and rocket fire from Gaza.
Speaking to the Maariv newspaper, Cohen said, "We promised change, not a magic show. It takes time, you do see a change in the boldness of the police, in the raids that are carried out, in the police opening fire at firebomb throwers, an increase in the collection of weapons. In the last month there was an increase of dozens of percents in the seizures of weapons - we need a budget as soon as possible, in order to recruit more officers for the Israel Police and to establish the National Guard, that is a game changer.”
''Our goal is to flood the streets with policemen. In a period of between four months and a year, the policemen will begin to return to the streets and bring us all the necessary peace. If we don't get the tools to realize our promises, we will take very significant steps," Cohen added.
On the initiative to ease the criterion for owning a personal weapon, he said, "There has been a very big logjam since Operation Guardian of the Walls, many citizens requested a license for a weapon and the state did not prepare accordingly. We added more clerks to provide service. In the coming months, people will receive a summons for an interview and begin the process."
On the rocket fire from the Gaza Strip, Cohen said, "I started taking protest measures following the retaliations in Gaza. The great news is that following the latest firing, the establishment of the town of Hanun (temporary name) was approved today. This is the most overwhelming answer to terrorism and we still demand a significant response. This is a process, it will not happen in a day or two, but if it appears as though we're not making an impact, we simply won't be [part of the government]."