Skilled civilian marksman
Skilled civilian marksmanFlash 90

Hundreds of thousands of combat unit veterans and basic training course graduates will be eligible for a weapons license starting today.

The new criteria were approved by Internal Security Minister Gilad Erdan and the new policy for obtaining a license came into effect.

According to the new policy, combat unit veterans with a "0.7 marksman qualification" and above will be entitled to apply for a weapons license. In addition, Minister Erdan decided officers and commanders will not be required to return their weapons and weapons licenses after being released from active reserve duty and may request to continue carrying weapons even after being discharged from active reserve duty.

Minister Erdan explains that "many civilians saved lives during terrorist attacks and in an era of 'lone-wolf terror' the more skilled civilians carrying weapons, the greater the chances of thwarting attacks without casualties and reducing the number of casualties."

As a result of the new policy, the potential of skilled marksmen in the public sphere will increase by over a half-million IDF security force veterans and thousands of volunteers from the Israel Police and rescue organizations.

Concurrently with expanding entitlement to receive a license, the Minister enacted regulations to significantly upgrade the training process for new license applicants and holders of existing licenses.

"Skilled civilians holding weapons in the public sphere contribute to the sense of security, constitute an important defense line against individual attacks, and serve as temporary power multipliers, thereby strengthening public safety. The new policy balances the need to protect the public who may be at risk and the need to protect the public against improper firearm use," said Minister Erdan.

"Many civilians saved lives during terrorist attacks"
"Many civilians saved lives during terrorist attacks"Flash 90