GUN sales are rocketing across Israel as terrified locals arm themselves to protect their families from another terror massacre.
Shooting ranges are packed as people rush to go through firearms courses to qualify to carry a handgun.
Ian WhittakerGun shop owner Yair Yaifrach said he is the busiest he has ever been in the 24 years he has had the store[/caption]
Ian WhittakerTerrified locals are arming themselves to protect their families from another terror massacre[/caption]
And applications for gun licenses have rocketed 1,500% since the Hamas bloodbath.
The Sun visited a gun shop in the tense West Bank where more than 140 Palestinians have been killed since the war began.
Thirty prospective gun owners were being put through their paces in the range before shelling out up to £1,200 for a handgun.
They told how owning a gun makes them feel safer in the face of the terror groups surrounding Israel who are all committed to its destruction.
The group included female MP Limor Son Har-Melech, 44, who still bears the scar of a terror attack 20 years ago in which her husband was shot dead.
She said: “We are fighting a brutal army which does not differentiate between army and civilians.
“So the civilians need to be armed as well and that includes the women.
“I know from personal experience the devastating effect on families that terrorists can have.
“My husband was murdered and I was seven months pregnant but had to give birth early.
“Now, after October 7, every woman needs to take responsibility to protect their family – and in Israel right now, that means knowing how to fire a gun.
“I have never done this firearms course before and it is sad I have to. But we have no choice.”
Gun shop owner Yair Yaifrach, 58, said he is the busiest he has ever been in the 24 years he has had the store.
He said: “People are tense and scared and want to protect their families.
“We saw on October 7 that if you are armed you have a chance of saving yourself. If you are not armed then you are doomed.
“People don’t want to fight but they have been left with no choice.”
Loosened laws
The Israeli government has loosened firearms laws since the terror attacks leading to a huge rise in applications for gun licenses – 150,000 in the weeks after the attacks compared to just 42 in the same period last year.
Applicants have to attend a two-hour theory course and then pass an online exam by getting at least 18 out of 20 multiple choice questions right.
They are then put through their paces on the firing range and if they pass medical and criminal records checks they can purchase a handgun.
The store has 16 on display in glass cases starting at £600 and going up to £12,000 for a P30 Heckler and Koch.
A constant stream of customers filed into the shop while we were there to buy guns, ammo and bullet proof vests for £500.
Avri, 28, a member of the Israel Defence Forces Givati brigade, was buying a £500 kit to turn his Glock 19X into a small rifle.
He was nursing an injured wrist after a car smash while he was stationed near Gaza to fight Hamas.
He said: “We did not start this war but we must win it. We will win it by people arming themselves to defend their community and by the army dealing with Hamas.
“The moment I am well again, I will be back fighting Hamas.
“This fight isn’t just our fight. If they beat us then they will start with the West.
“And if the West does not understand that now, then by the time it does, it will be too late.”