Opposition to the move is getting more intense. On Friday, after the original announcement, several MKs and organizations expressed their objections. MK Aryeh Eldad (National Union), for instance, said that Mofaz is once again placing Jewish lives at the mercy of PA security organs, while the Almagor Terror Victims Association said that similar experiments in the past have exacted a heavy price. This morning, an email petition has begun circulating, calling for letters and calls of protest to the Prime Minister and Defense Minister. "They're Again Giving Them Guns! Call Now to Register Your Protest!" the email blares. "The Prime Minister will not be able to claim later that the blood is not on his hands."



Welfare Minister Zevulun Orlev (National Religious Party) and Education Minister Limor Livnat (Likud) warned this morning at the Cabinet meeting against the decision. Orlev said it would place Israelis in danger, noting that the PA and its police force orchestrate, plan and take part in terror attacks." Both Orlev and Livnat requested that the decision to permit the PA to carry arms be approved by either the cabinet or the Security Cabinet.