The Israel Border Police ( he, מִשְׁמַר הַגְּבוּל, Mišmar Ha-Gvul) is the gendarmerie and

border security Border control refers to measures taken by governments to monitor and regulate the movement of people, animals, and goods across land, air, and maritime borders. While border control is typically associated with international borders, it a ...

branch of the

Israel National Police The Israel Police ( he, משטרת ישראל, ''Mišteret Yisra'el''; ar, شرطة إسرائيل, ''Shurtat Isrāʼīl'') is the civilian police force of Israel. As with most other police forces in the world, its duties include crime fightin ...

. It is also commonly known by its Hebrew abbreviation Magav (), meaning border guard; its members are colloquially known as ''magavnikim'' (; singular ''magavnik''). Border Guard is often used as the official name of the Israel Border Police in English. While its main task is securing Israel's borders, it has also been deployed in assisting the Israel Defense Forces, and for

counter-terrorism Counterterrorism (also spelled counter-terrorism), also known as anti-terrorism, incorporates the practices, military tactics, techniques, and strategies that governments, law enforcement, business, and intelligence agencies use to combat or ...

and

law enforcement Law enforcement is the activity of some members of government who act in an organized manner to enforce the law by discovering, deterring, rehabilitating, or punishing people who violate the rules Rule or ruling may refer to: Education ...

operations in the

West Bank The West Bank ( ar, الضفة الغربية, translit=aḍ-Ḍiffah al-Ġarbiyyah; he, הגדה המערבית, translit=HaGadah HaMaʽaravit, also referred to by some Israelis as ) is a landlocked territory near the coast of the Mediter ...

, as well as in

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

. The Israeli Border Police is known to include many soldiers from minority backgrounds, being a particularly popular choice with Druze recruits, but also includes many soldiers from Circassian, Arab Christian and Bedouin background.Arab-Israeli Military Forces in an Era of Asymmetric Wars, Anthony H. Cordesman, Greenwood Publishing Group, 1 January 2006, page 133

History

Israel Border Police members in Jerusalem

The Border Police was founded as the Frontier Corps (, ''Heil HaSfar''), a gendarmerie under the IDF in 1949 with the task of providing security in rural areas and along the borders. In the course of the following years, it was gradually transferred to the command of the

Police The police are a constituted body of persons empowered by a state, with the aim to enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citizens, and to prevent crime and civil disorder. Their lawful powers include arrest and th ...

and became the Border Police. During these years, it secured new settlements and countered infiltration of Palestinian Fedayeen, especially from

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Medit ...

and

Jordan Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Rive ...

. During the 1956 Suez War, the Border Police was involved in the

Kafr Qasim massacre The Kafr Qasim massacre took place in the Israeli Arab village of Kafr Qasim situated on the Green Line, at that time, the de facto border between Israel and the Jordanian West Bank on October 29, 1956. It was carried out by the Israel Bor ...

. On the second day of the war, a curfew was imposed on the

Israeli Arab The Arab citizens of Israel are the largest ethnic minority in the country. They comprise a hybrid community of Israeli citizens with a heritage of Palestinian citizenship, mixed religions (Muslim, Christian or Druze), bilingual in Arabic an ...

village. Villagers who had worked in the village fields and were apparently unaware of the curfew were shot as they returned to the village, resulting in 49 dead. This event raised a strong protest in the Israeli public and resulted in a landmark Supreme Court ruling on the obligation of soldiers to disobey manifestly illegal orders. During the 1967

Six-Day War The Six-Day War (, ; ar, النكسة, , or ) or June War, also known as the 1967 Arab–Israeli War or Third Arab–Israeli War, was fought between Israel and a coalition of Arab states (primarily Egypt, Syria, and Jordan) from 5 to 10 Ju ...

, the Border Police took part in the fighting alongside the IDF. Following the war, it was deployed in the

and

Gaza Strip The Gaza Strip (;The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) – p.761 "Gaza Strip /'gɑːzə/ a strip of territory under the control of the Palestinian National Authority and Hamas, on the SE Mediterranean coast including the town of Gaza.. ...

and charged with maintaining law and order as part of the military administration. Since then, a significant portion of the Border Police's activity has been in these territories, especially during the years of the First Intifada and the Second (al-Aqsa) Intifada. In 1974, the counter-terror unit

Yamam The Yamam ( he, ימ"מ, an acronym for ''Centralized Special Unit'' , ''Yeḥida Merkazit Meyuḥedet''), also called in Hebrew and Israel's National Counter Terror Unit (I.N.C.T.U.) in English, is Israel's national counter-terrorism unit, ...

was established. Magavjeep

In the 2000

October Riots The October 2000 protests, also known as October 2000 events, were a series of protests in Arab villages in northern Israel in October 2000 that turned violent, escalating into rioting by Israeli Arabs, which led to counter-rioting by Israeli Je ...

, the Border Police were used as the main branch of the treatment in the events. During the Second Intifada, the Border Police took a large part in the security activity. In 2005, the Border Police participated in the implementation of the

Israeli disengagement from Gaza The Israeli disengagement from Gaza ( he, תוכנית ההתנתקות, ') was the unilateral dismantling in 2005 of the 21 Israeli settlements in the Gaza Strip and the evacuation of Israeli settlers and army from inside the Gaza Strip. T ...

. The Border Police heaviest area of operation is the city of Jerusalem. Virtually all "soldiers" that can be seen patrolling the streets of Jerusalem are actually Border Guard Police officers. Approximately 20% of all Border Guard personnel in the country are located in Jerusalem alone. Besides Jerusalem MAGAV also provides security, conducts military operations, raids and arrests on Palestinian people in cities like Jenin, Nablus, Jericho, Qalqilya,

Tulkarm Tulkarm, Tulkarem or Tull Keram ( ar, طولكرم, ''Ṭūlkarm'') is a Palestinian city in the West Bank, located in the Tulkarm Governorate of the State of Palestine. The Israeli city of Netanya is to the west, and the Palestinian cities o ...

, Ramallah and

Hebron Hebron ( ar, الخليل or ; he, חֶבְרוֹן ) is a Palestinian. city in the southern West Bank, south of Jerusalem. Nestled in the Judaean Mountains, it lies above sea level. The second-largest city in the West Bank (after Eas ...

. The total number of Border Guards is believed to be about 6,000 soldiers and officers.

Minorities serving

The Israeli Border Police is renowned for including many soldiers from minority backgrounds, being a particularly popular choice with Druze recruits, but also includes many soldiers from Circassian, Arab Christian and Bedouin background.

Structure

The Border Police is composed of professional officers on payroll and field policemen redirected from the IDF (men and women at the age of 18 can choose to serve in the Border Police instead of the IDF, serving three years as a border policeman is equal to three years as an IDF soldier). All border policemen receive combat training and in addition are also trained for CT (

riot control Riot control measures are used by law enforcement, military, paramilitary or security forces to control, disperse, and arrest people who are involved in a riot, unlawful demonstration or unlawful protest. If a riot is spontaneous and irratio ...

and policework. Excellent policemen can specialize in some profession and receive special training to become snipers, buggy-drivers, dog operators,

bomb squad Bomb disposal is an explosives engineering profession using the process by which hazardous explosive devices are rendered safe. ''Bomb disposal'' is an all-encompassing term to describe the separate, but interrelated functions in the milit ...

, etc. Because of their combat training, border policemen are employed in unique areas, where there are greater risks for riots, violence and even terror. They serve mainly in the countryside, in Arab villages and towns (along with the regular police), near the borders and in the

Settlements security

The Border Police is also responsible for security of rural settlements inside Israel with its Rural Police (Hebrew: שיטור כפרי, ''shitur kafri'') units and Community Security Coordinators (Hebrew: רב"ש, ''rabash''). Rural policemen are full-time professional officers and security coordinators are a mixture of full-time and volunteer officers.

Special Operations Units

The Border Police has four Special forces units:

Yamam

The Yamam (counter-terror and hostage rescue unit) record includes the capture of a terrorist group hidden in the Arab town of

Tayibe Tayibe, also spelled Taibeh or Tayiba, ( ar, الطيبة, lit=the kind/benevolent, translit=aṭ-Ṭayyibah, South Levantine pronunciation: ; he, טַיִּבָּה) is an Arab city in central Israel, north east of Kfar Saba.Hamas Hamas (, ; , ; an acronym of , "Islamic Resistance Movement") is a Palestinian Sunni-Islamic fundamentalist, militant, and nationalist organization. It has a social service wing, Dawah, and a military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam ...

head in

and Abbedullah Qawasameh.

Yamas

The Yamas are the counter-terror undercover unit. The Yamas are often expected to carry out complex missions with little or no preparation, often involving daylight raids in volatile areas. They do not follow regular military or police command structure and answer directly to the Shabak. Their existence has until recently been denied by the IDF.

Others

* Samag (Tactical Counter-Crime and Counter-Terror Rapid Deployment Unit) and * Matilan (Intelligence Gathering and Infiltrations Interception Unit).

Volunteer Border Guard

The Border Guard also deploys many volunteer servicemen. These volunteer Border Guard members enlist as volunteers and serve in regular Border Guard units. The Border Guard relies on the volunteer soldiers in order to reinforce their manpower and help maintain the country's heavy security needs. The volunteer Border Guard are given special attention in sensitive places like Jerusalem where security threats are the highest and at times can double or even triple the manpower of full-time security forces in a given area. Many of these special Border Guard volunteers are Jewish immigrants that have immigrated to Israel from all over the world from places like the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

, Australia,

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the sout ...

, and the former

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

, etc. The volunteer Border Guard members leave behind jobs and families on a regular basis in order to serve in this special combat unit. Some come from cities like Beit Shemesh, Ofrah, Ashkelon, Ra'anana and even Haifa to serve in the Border Guard. The volunteers receive no pay for serving in the Border Guard units and serve in the Border Guard in their off work hours.

Treatment of Palestinians

In a 2001 report the Israeli NGO

B'tselem B'Tselem ( he, בצלם, , " in the image of od) is a Jerusalem-based non-profit organization whose stated goals are to document human rights violations in the Israeli-occupied Palestinian territories, combat any denial of the existence of su ...

stated that violence against Palestinians in the occupied territories was widespread among Border Police units. Several cases of abuse, including the breaking of the hand of a three-year-old child, were documented over a short period of months. It added that prosecution of those officers who perpetrate such acts was difficult, since Border Police, in contravention of the law, did not carry tags allowing them to be identified, and registering complaints against them was hindered by numerous bureaucratic obstacles, such as making travel permits to Israeli courts difficult to obtain.

Commanders

Below is a list of current and former Border Police Commanders * Pinchas Kopel (1953-1964) He later served as the third police commissioner. * Shimon Eshed (1964-1972) Later he served as commander of the Northern District. * Chaim Levi (1972-1976) Later he served as the Prison Service Commissioner. * Zvi Bar (1976-1983) Later he served as the head of the Police Operations Branch and served as mayor of Ramat Gan. * Pinchas Shahar (1983-1989) With a masterpiece. * Meshulam Amit (1989-1993) He served briefly as deputy mayor of Jerusalem and was a candidate for the Knesset on behalf of the Moledet party. * Yitzhak Aharonovitch (1993-1995) Later on, Cohen served as commander of the SJ District, commander of the southern district and the commissioner of police. He also served as Minister of Public Security on behalf of the Yisrael Beiteinu party. * Israel Sadan (1998-1995) Later he served as mayor of Hadera. * Yitzhak Dadon (1998-2001) The service decoration. * Yaakov Ganot (2001-2002) Later he served as the Commissioner of Prisons. He currently serves as CEO of the Airports Authority. * David Tzur (2002-2004) Later he served as commander of the Tel Aviv District. He also served as a member of the Knesset on behalf of the Movement Party. * Hossein Fares (2004-2007) The first Druze head of the Israel Police. * Israel Isaac (2007-2011) Later he served as the Israel Police commissioner. * Yoram Halevy (2011 - 2012) Later he served as commander of the Southern District, currently serving as commander of the Jerusalem district. * Amos Jacob (2012-2016) Currently serves as the commander of the Hof district. * Yaakov Shabtai (Current from February 2016)

Ranks

The ranks in the Border Police are the same as those of the

Israel Police The Israel Police ( he, משטרת ישראל, ''Mišteret Yisra'el''; ar, شرطة إسرائيل, ''Shurtat Isrāʼīl'') is the civilian police force of Israel. As with most other police forces in the world, its duties include crime fightin ...

and are similarly sworn in: the ranks of police officers and junior officers on the shirt collar, ranks of officers and senior officers on the cover. However, in field uniforms Border Police officers wear rank insignia on a green background worn on epaulets on top of both shoulders or on green epaulets. Border Police branch insignia is worn on the cap or beret. Enlisted grades wear rank insignia on the sleeve, halfway between the shoulder and the elbow. The Border Police

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

style insignia are white with blue interwoven threads backed with the appropriate corps color. ;Officers ;Others

Uniforms

The Border has several types of uniforms: * Service dress (מדי אלף Madei Alef – Uniform "A") – the everyday uniform which is a grey variant of the khaki Navy and Air Corps uniform. A green lanyard is worn on the left shoulder with the Class A uniform * Field dress ( מדי ב Madei Bet – Uniform "B") – worn into combat, training, work on base. The first two resemble each other but the Madei Alef is made of higher quality materials in grey while the madei bet is in grey drab. * Officers / Ceremonial dress (מדי שרד madei srad) – worn by officers, or during special events/ceremonies. Consists of a light yellow shirt and brown-gray trousers. The service uniform for all Border Police personnel is grey. The uniforms consist of a two-pocket shirt, plain or combat trousers, sweater, jacket or blouse, and shoes or boots. The grey fatigues are the same for winter and summer and heavy winter gear is issued as needed. Women's dress parallels the men's but may substitute a skirt for the trousers.Israeli Defense Forces since 1973 (p62) and by Sam Katz, Osprey Elite Series #8, Copyright 1986 Headgear included a service cap for dress and semi-dress and a field cap or bush hat worn with fatigues. Border Police personnel generally wear green berets in lieu of the service cap. Some units have small variations in their uniforms such as certain Security and Tactical units in Jerusalem who wear the standard IDF olive fatigues. File:Border Police of Israel.jpg, A Border Policeman in a

tear gas Tear gas, also known as a lachrymator agent or lachrymator (), sometimes colloquially known as "mace" after the early commercial aerosol, is a chemical weapon that stimulates the nerves of the lacrimal gland in the eye to produce tears. In ...

mask. File:Israel 4 021.Israelic Soldier.jpg, A Border Policeman in the Old City of Jerusalem. File:Israeli-Police-Facebook--Misdar-001.jpg, Israeli Police Honor Guard, Israel's Memorial Day 2015. The Border Police wear the madei srad. File:א נבי סלאח - 20.5.11 520.jpg, Israel Border policemen wearing IDF Madei Bet in Nabi Salih, May 2011. File:Purim 2016 (25950156592).jpg, Border Guard in grey IDF style fatigues

Weapons and equipment

The primary Border Police weapons are the CAR-15 and

M-16 The M16 rifle (officially designated Rifle, Caliber 5.56 mm, M16) is a family of military rifles adapted from the ArmaLite AR-15 rifle for the United States military. The original M16 rifle was a 5.56×45mm automatic rifle with a 20-roun ...

rifles, some of which are attached to the M-203 grenade launcher. The Border Police also use standard IDF equipment such as vests and helmets. Special units of Border Police use

Glock 17 Glock is a brand of polymer- framed, short recoil-operated, locked-breech semi-automatic pistols designed and produced by Austrian manufacturer Glock Ges.m.b.H. The firearm entered Austrian military and police service by 1982 after it was th ...

Glock 19 Glock is a brand of polymer- framed, short recoil-operated, locked-breech semi-automatic pistols designed and produced by Austrian manufacturer Glock Ges.m.b.H. The firearm entered Austrian military and police service by 1982 after it was th ...

, Jericho, or FN HP pistols. Some units, such as the Jerusalem Patrol Unit carry the Beretta M9-22LR .22LR pistol. Special units use a variety of other individual and individual weapons, ( Ruger S22), sniper rifles, submachine guns and Shotguns. The Border Police extensively use riot dispersal means such as batons and shields, tear gas canisters and

stun grenade A stun grenade, also known as a flash grenade, flashbang, thunderflash, or sound bomb, is a less-lethal explosive device used to temporarily disorient an enemy's senses. Upon detonation, they produce a blinding flash of light and an extremely lo ...

s, also

rubber bullet Rubber bullets (also called rubber baton rounds) are a type of baton round. Despite the name, rubber bullets typically have either a metal core with a rubber coating, or are a homogeneous admixture with rubber being a minority component. Alth ...

s and

water cannon A water cannon is a device that shoots a high-velocity stream of water. Typically, a water cannon can deliver a large volume of water, often over dozens of meters. They are used in firefighting, large vehicle washing, riot control, and mining ...

Transportation

The Border Police use Sufa, Carkal, Dawid wheeled armored personnel carriers and a variety of patrol cars and vehicles. Several units in the Border Police use motorcycles and ATV's.

Memorial

The "Border Police Memorial and Heritage Center" is located in the western Carmel mountains near Zomet Iron at road 65.Map
/ref> File:Israeli_Border_Police_Memorial_and_Heritage_Center.JPG, Israeli Border Police Memorial and Heritage Center File:Israel Border Police monument02.jpg, Israel Border Police monument. File:Police_israel_9216.jpg,

AIL Storm The AIL Storm ( he, סופה, ''Sufa'') is an Israeli manufactured off-road vehicle and the workhorse of the Israeli Security Forces. The series of Jeep Wrangler based vehicles have been produced by Automotive Industries Ltd. in Upper Nazaret ...

File:BTS_Hebron_Tour_280215_13.jpg, MDT Davids File:Israel Border Police monument (3).jpg, AIL Abir Rhino APC File:Police car of Israel 06.JPG, Border Police

Isuzu D-Max The Isuzu D-Max is a pickup truck manufactured since 2002 by Isuzu Motors. A successor of the Isuzu Faster/KB, the first and second-generation model shares its platform with the Chevrolet Colorado. The third-generation model shares its plat ...

pickup

Notes

References

Bibliography

* Bregman, Ahron (2002). ''Israel's Wars: A History Since 1947''. London: Routledge. * Arno Klarsfeld, Yves Derai, ''Israël transit: Entretiens avec Yves Derai'', L' Archipel, * Moshe Givati, Abir 21 - The Story of Eli Avram, Commander of the Undercover Unit, Reut Publishing, 2003. * Yosef Argaman, The Border - Cases in the History of the Border Police, Israel: The Border Police, the "Green Berets" Association and the Ministry of Defense Publication, 1996.

External links

Border Police page at Israel Police site
(Hebrew)
Israeli Police official website
{{Israel topics Israeli–Palestinian conflict West Bank Military of Israel Police units of Israel