In Palestine, the gun culture is unregulated & dangerous

Why Do American Liberals Ignore Palestine's Gun Control Problem?

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Emanuel Engelmayer
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While the majority of Israel’s allies would like to see a Palestinian State established within the West Bank and East Jerusalem, few seem to have any preference for the internal Palestinian policies that would exist within such a state. Since the global ‘Free Palestine’ movement is largely based on liberal activists, the overlooking, or perhaps ignorance, of Palestinian internal affairs often is extremely hypocritical. For example, it would be completely normal for an American gun-control activist to be spotted at a pro-Palestine demonstration; despite the extremely irresponsible gun culture in the Palestinian territories.

Just this past Friday, an Israeli 9-year-old girl living in the Israeli community of Kochav Yaakov in Judea was struck by a stray bullet, likely from the nearby PA-controlled city of Al-Bireh. In general, it is completely appropriate to hear random gunshots in Judea and Samaria since Arab locals have developed a gun-friendly culture where shooting into the air at festivities such as weddings is acceptable and even expected.

For those unfamiliar with this ‘traditional Palestinian custom’, a quick Youtube search could confirm how wedding guests, mostly male, pull the triggers of M16 assault rifles pointed to the sky as if they are shooting toy Nerf guns. Even little kids are given the OK to shoot guns at these festivities, in one famous video a child no older than four accidentally shoots his father with the gun his father let him play with at a wedding. In addition, at virtually any political rally, which often takes place in densely-populated areas, guns are brandished by participants as a symbol of strength and importance. 

Guns have become a symbol of status for Palestinians; the more your family illegally owns, the more important and rich you probably are. While throughout the Middle East and its cultures, there is definitely an understanding that strength and power are one and the same, no group of people has taken it to the extreme like the Palestinians. It is so embedded within the culture that it's fair to say the only unique quality of Palestinian culture which sets them apart from all other Arabs is not the food, music, or language, but the extreme lack of gun control. While this may be a surprise or even seem like an exaggeration to some readers, it is completely synonymous with the brief history of Palestinian nationalism. A nation that was founded by militant groups seeking to terrorize their way to “freedom”, will surely keep guns on a pedestal since it has gotten them this far.

It should be noted that the vast majority of guns in Palestinian communities are considered strictly illegal both by the PA and Israel; the issue lies with the lack of policing on behalf of the Palestinian Authority’s governmental bodies. As mentioned in a number of other articles published by The Judean, while the PA is very good at collecting funds, allocating them properly and creating real administration has never really been of real interest to Mahmoud Abbas and his ruling Fatah comrades.

Instead of adopting the role of governing their people, they choose to act solely as a propaganda agency while keeping most of the wealth for the very few elites; knowing very well that Israel acting through the IDF will eventually be forced to take care of all civil issues and severe disobedience. From a public relations point of view, it also makes sense for the ruling PLO to allow Israel to do all their ‘dirty work’ while avoiding any confrontations with residents who, as it is, have mixed opinions about the Palestinian Authority.

It is safe to assume that if a Palestinian State were to be founded today with full sovereignty, gun violence would be so severe between the various factions and terrorist organizations, it would create a number of ‘pockets’ within the state which are de-facto ruled by local armed groups and not the state’s administration. This situation exists even today in areas like Jenin and Nablus where the Palestinian Security forces are shunned by those loyal to the militant groups who control those cities. Just last month the Jenin police station was attacked after the PA forces tried to contain a rally where the organizers were calling on recruits to attack Israeli civilians.

Even if miraculously the splintering of Palestinian society does not happen and the current Palestinian Authority manages to rule properly, surely their policies and legislation would be far from what the progressive activists around the world fighting for ‘Palestinian Rights’ would like to see. Gun Control, LGBTQ Rights, or even simply just not executing homosexuals, will all be part of the progressive West’s requests the Palestinian State would deny without thinking twice.

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