Former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett has warned that the phenomenon of illegal weapons in Israel goes far beyond the criminal sphere and poses a security threat.
Speaking at a lecture on Thursday night, Bennett said that more than half a million illegal weapons are held by civilians, describing the situation as "a security threat of the highest order."
Bennett claimed that illegal weapons are being transferred to terrorists in Judea and Samaria and to organized crime families in Israel.
"This is an extremely dangerous ticking time bomb," he stressed.
According to Bennett, "A security threat should and may be dealt with using security tools," by defining weapons smuggling as an act of terrorism and deploying the Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) to locate illegal weapons.
Bennett also proposed declaring a "closed security zone" in order to confiscate illegal weapons, thereby reducing violent crime, particularly in the Arab sector.