PA Police detail how a Palestinian can obtain a gun – "every citizen is eligible to acquire a weapon"

Headline: “The [PA] police explain to Al-Quds: This is how a gun license is given for protecting private property”

“After quite a few incidents of armed robbery were recorded in many businesses, people are wondering about the possibility of merchants receiving licensed weapons for self-defense. Can they or other people who need defense really receive a gun for this purpose?

Palestinian [PA] Police Spokesperson Luay Erziqat explained to alquds.com that every citizen can contact the weapons licensing department of the police investigations administration in any one of its branches in the districts and submit a request for a short weapon–handgun license.

According to Erziqat, the police investigations administration has conditions for a gun license, including [that the applicant] have good conduct and be medically and mentally fit, and that he attach a medical report on the matter to the license request.

Erziqat said that the police are supervising the licensed weapons in order to ensure that they are not used for crime. This supervision is being carried out through the annual licensing procedures, and every citizen who is interested in renewing the license needs a [certificate of] good conduct. If any kind of crime is recorded against a citizen the license can be revoked, and it can also be checked whether this weapon was used in committing crimes.

Who is eligible to acquire a weapon? Every citizen who provides reasons for gun ownership, whether he is a merchant or a resident of a remote area, or he has justification for bearing arms. The request is submitted to the police investigations administration, and the request is checked… If he meets the criteria, the applicant receives a gun license.

Regarding the existence of a law regulating the provision of gun licenses, Erziqat emphasized that there is a law for weapons and ammunition that can be relied on, although there is always a need to develop the law.”