Israeli gun licensing website crashes due to high traffic volumes

Applications for gun licences in Israel are at an all-time high, reports Israeli news site Jewish Press.

According to the report, the website, run by the Israeli Ministry of Public Security, crashed this week due to unusually high traffic volumes.

The upsurge in interest in firearms in Israel, where it is estimated that some 500,000 civilians own firearms, comes amid months of unrest in Jerusalem and beyond.

However, a planned protest this morning, at which right-wing activists were asked to come "armed" to morning prayers at the Damascus gate in the Arab quarter of the Old City, attracted only a handful of participants.

Orez Ziv, MEE's reporter on the ground, told us that the majority of those who attended were officers deployed to police the demonstration.