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Israeli Knesset member waves gun in east Jerusalem

Ultranationalist Itamar Ben Gvir is exploiting an incident in which he brandished a gun in the east Jerusalem Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood ahead of the Nov. 1 elections.
Itamar Ben-Gvir, Israeli far-right lawmaker and leader of the Otzma Yehudit (Jewish power) party, attends a campaign event in the northern Israel Kibbutz of Ayelet Hashahar on Oct. 6, 2022.

On Oct. 13, ultranationalist Knesset Member Itamar Ben Gvir was caught on camera pulling out his gun in east Jerusalem’s Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood. The incident generated commotion in the media, which might have been what motivated Ben Gvir to begin with.

Sheikh Jarrah has become a major pressure point in Jewish-Arab relations in Jerusalem, with Palestinians throwing rocks at Jewish passersby and Jewish settlers provoking Palestinian activists. Ben Gvir often shows up in such volatile places and even set up a makeshift office in the neighborhood, at the ancient tomb of Simon the Just. As a member of Knesset, Ben Gvir has immunity, which makes it difficult to remove him.

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