Ben-Gvir vows to arm more Israeli citizens in wake of Jerusalem attack

Two Palestinian gunmen shot dead three Israelis, including two women, and wounded at least 11 more in an attack in Jerusalem early Thursday morning, 30 November.

The two Palestinians were killed at the scene by two Israeli army officers. A video showed two men emerge out of a vehicle and opening fire at a crowd at a bus stop. Moments later, two Israeli army officers were seen stepping out of their car and opening fire at the gunmen. 

The Israeli police said the two assailants were brothers from Sur Baher in occupied East Jerusalem. Murad Nemer, 38, and Ibrahim Nemer were both affiliated with Hamas and had been imprisoned before the police statement said. 

Hamas claimed the two attackers as its members. 

Following the incident, the Israeli forces stormed the homes of the Nemer brothers in Sur Baher. 

Israel's far-right national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, accused the Israeli government of 'surrender' and called for the resumption of the war against the Gaza Strip. 

"With one hand, Hamas signs a ceasefire, and with the other, it sends terrorists to murder Jews in Jerusalem. This is not a ceasefire but the continuation of the concept of inclusion and surrender. We must cease the deals with the devil and immediately return to fighting with tremendous intensity", Ben Gvir posted on X. 

Recently, Israel eased the criteria for civilians to obtain a license to own a weapon. 

 "I will continue this policy of handing out weapons everywhere, both to standby classes and to civilians. Weapons save lives", Ben-Gvir wrote on X.  

Last month, Itamar Ben-Gvir announced that weapons, including 10,000 assault rifles, would be distributed to Israeli civilians, according to Israeli media reports.

Critics dubbed Ben-Gvir's campaign of arming citizens while criticizing the government a mere 'political campaign' and accused the minister of being  "responsible for the biggest failure in Israel's history". 

Ben-Gvir leads the extremist 'Jewish Power' party, part of Benjamin Netanyahu's ruling coalition. 'Jewish Power' party ministers voted against the truce between Israel and Hamas.