Jerusalem Mayor Calls on Licensed Gun Owners to Carry Firearms to Defend

Earlier on Wednesday, Palestinians perpetrated two stabbing attacks, the first time such incidents took place outside Jerusalem and the West Bank during the recent wave of violence.

“Given the current escalation [of violence] in the security situation, those with a licensed firearm who know what to do with it must go out with [their weapon]- it’s an imperative”, Barkat told Army Radio. ‘Having a weapon increases the resident’s confidence’.

The attack in Tel Aviv was among three new stabbings on Thursday that left several people wounded.

EPA A Palestinian protesters throws stones during clashes with the members of the Israeli armed forces in Hebron, West Bank.

Several high-ranking Israeli officials have called on civilians to start carrying weapons around the clock, following a spate of stabbings and shootings by Palestinians in Jerusalem in recent days, Ha’aretz reported Thursday.

An official statement issued by Mr Barkat said: “The mayor encourages licensed gun owners to carry their weapons to increase security”.

In the evening, a Palestinian stabbed and slightly injured a 25-year-old Israeli man at a mall in Petah Tikvah city in central Israel. To own a gun in Israel, you are required to be a permanent citizen or resident of the country, over the age of 27, hold a basic knowledge of Hebrew and to pass background checks, according to a report by Jewish newspaper Forward in 2013.

Palestinians fear visits by Jewish groups, including ultranationalist lawmakers, to the plaza revered in Judaism as the site of two destroyed biblical temples are eroding Muslim religious control of al-Aqsa, Islam’s third holiest shrine.

(MENAFN – The Journal Of Turkish Weekly)Tensions have mounted in Jerusalem after three knife attacks on Wednesday and one more on Thursday as Jerusalem’s mayor advised residents to carry firearms.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who was forced to cancel his appearance a European summit due to the violence, has also warned Israelis to be on guard.

Also on Tuesday, Israel Police announced it would lift restrictions on the entry of access to Muslim worshippers on the Temple Mount.