Times of Israel, 10 October 2023 [3 days AFTER Hamas attack!]
Ben Gvir says 10,000 assault rifles purchased for civilian security teams
Guns, helmets and body armor to be distributed to hundreds of residents of border regions, mixed Jewish-Arab cities, West Bank settlements
… The step comes after some civilian security teams reported they had no weapons to fight off Hamas terrorists during Saturday’s devastating assault on southern Israel. …
Civilian security teams provide security to small towns and communities in Israel’s periphery and in West Bank settlements, some of which helped defend residents from the Hamas invasion on Saturday before the IDF was able to arrive.
Approximately three years ago, the IDF began taking away firearms from some of these security teams due to the repeated theft of such weapons.
Hebrew news outlets reported on the problem back in 2021, and members of some of the teams have told the media in the last few days that they were essentially unarmed during Hamas’s invasion.
Members of such a team told the Calcalist newspaper on Sunday that they had engaged Hamas terrorists armed with just pistols, while the terrorists bore assault rifles, grenades and anti-tank missiles.
“The IDF took our rifles recently, they left us with just a few. We repelled a Hamas commando terror cell with just pistols,” one said.