Jerusalem:Israeli authorities have approved a planning scheme that allows the establishment of shooting ranges at nine settlement sites in the Jerusalem area. This move is part of a broader plan that includes 31 locations across the occupied West Bank.
According to Palestine Info Center, the Jerusalem Governorate has warned that this approval is an effort to expand armed settlement infrastructure and strengthen what they describe as a system of settler terrorism against Palestinians. Planning Scheme No. 200/5 specifically covers the settlement locations of Adam, Givat HaHadasha, Kochav Yaakov, Tel Zion, New Migron, Kfar Adumim, Alon, Nofei Prat, and Anatot within the Jerusalem Governorate.
The approval facilitates the expansion of firearms training facilities within Israeli settlements surrounding Occupied Jerusalem. The Jerusalem Governorate has linked this approval to Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir’s policy of expanding civilian access to firearms. In March 2024, Ben-Gvir announced that Israeli authorities had approved 100,000 firearms licenses since October 7, 2023, alongside measures easing licensing requirements.
The Palestinian Wall and Settlement Resistance Commission notes that the broader plan affects 29 settlements, settlement communities, and neighborhoods, as well as two industrial zones across the governorates of Ramallah and Al-Bireh, Jerusalem, Nablus, and Jericho and the Jordan Valley. The scheme adds shooting ranges to the list of permitted land uses, further expanding planning options for firearms training facilities and training licensed gun owners in areas designated for various purposes.
The commission also highlights that this new scheme builds on earlier measures to expand firearms ownership and training infrastructure within settlements. A 2022 Israeli government list identified nine licensed shooting ranges in settlements across the occupied West Bank. Additionally, a 2024 document by the economic development company affiliated with the Mateh Binyamin Regional Council discussed operating a shooting range in the Psagot settlement, linked to increased firearms license applications.
The approval of these shooting ranges comes amid a significant increase in attacks by Israeli settlers against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank. The Wall and Settlement Resistance Commission reports 1,369 attacks in October, compared to 647 in September, marking an increase of 111.6%. These attacks included shootings, physical assaults, arson, property destruction, and theft, raising concerns about further threats to Palestinian communities.