Due to the war in Gaza, Israel is arming civilians, fearing the eruption of "internal violence" between Arabs and Jews.

 As the Israeli army's ground operation in Gaza draws near, with tanks, armored vehicles, and hundreds of thousands of soldiers amassed at the border, Tel Aviv continues to prepare the home front by arming civilians, apprehensive of a resurgence of the "internal violence" that occurred in 2021. There are also concerns among residents of border areas about the widening scope of the war.

Israeli authorities have formed hundreds of security squads from volunteers over the past two weeks following the surprise attack launched by Hamas on October 7th. They are arming civilians to prevent potential clashes between Arabs and Jews due to the ongoing events, although the police described the behavior as "exemplary" so far.

The current situation brings to mind the violent protests that took place in mixed cities in Israel and even in East Jerusalem in 2021, involving Arab citizens who make up 21 percent of the total population.

The distribution of 40,000 weapons and concerns about the formation of militias

Amid this tension and fears of renewed clashes within Israel due to the war in Gaza, National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir stated that there is a possibility of a repeat of the 2021 turmoil and ordered the relaxation of regulations for issuing gun carry permits to civilians.

These conditions generally require applicants to have served in the Israeli military, which most Arabs are exempt from. Ben Gvir, the leader of the far right, continuously posts on his social media accounts about the distribution of weapons to Jewish civilians and also reposts similar posts from public figures in Israel.

In this context, journalist, politician, and former member of the Knesset Yinon Magal tweeted about the distribution of weapons to dozens of extremist religious individuals.