The Palestinian Presidential Guard (PPG) ( ar, الحرس الرئاسي الفلسطيني) is a branch of the

Palestinian Security Services The Palestinian Security Services (PSS) are the armed forces and intelligence agencies of the State of Palestine. They comprise several institutions, notably the Security Forces and the Police. The President of the Palestinian National Authori ...

under the direct control of the

President of the State of Palestine The president of the State of Palestine is the head of state of Palestine. Yasser Arafat became the first titular president of the State of Palestine in 1989, one year after proclamation of independence. The title was originally titular, in par ...

. Its primary role is protection of the President and other

VIP A very important person or personage (VIP or V.I.P.) is a person who is accorded special privileges due to their high social status, influence or importance. The term was not common until sometime after World War 2 by RAF pilots. Examples inc ...

s, as well as execute ceremonial functions. The force may also execute special combat functions.

Establishment

The predecessor of the Presidential Guard was the "Presidential Security", established in 1994 by then

President of the Palestinian Authority The president of the Palestinian National Authority ( ar, رئيس السلطة الوطنية الفلسطينية) is the highest-ranking political position (equivalent to head of state) in the Palestinian National Authority (PNA). The presiden ...

(PA),

Yasser Arafat Mohammed Abdel Rahman Abdel Raouf al-Qudwa al-Husseini (4 / 24 August 1929 – 11 November 2004), popularly known as Yasser Arafat ( , ; ar, محمد ياسر عبد الرحمن عبد الرؤوف عرفات القدوة الحسيني, Mu ...

and largely composed of members from Force 17.''The Palestinian Security Services: Past and Present''
MIFTAH, 30 May 2006.
"Presidential Security: What was Yasser Arafat’s former personal-security force a highly trained group of some 3,000 officers, now guards

Mahmoud Abbas Mahmoud Abbas ( ar, مَحْمُود عَبَّاس, Maḥmūd ʿAbbās; born 15 November 1935), also known by the kunya Abu Mazen ( ar, أَبُو مَازِن, links=no, ), is the president of the State of Palestine and the Palestinian Nati ...

. Most of these men were members of Force 17, an armed unit whose duties included guarding VIPs and securing important locations such the presidential compound in Ramallah." In 2006, the Presidential Security was established as a separate force and renamed "Presidential Guard".''Entry-points to Palestinian Security Sector Reform''
Appendix A, p. 161. Roland Friedrich and Arnold Luethold, DCAF, 2007 The Presidential Guard was made up entirely of

Fatah Fatah ( ar, فتح '), formerly the Palestinian National Liberation Movement, is a Palestinian nationalist social democratic political party and the largest faction of the confederated multi-party Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and s ...

activists loyal to Abbas.''U.S. training Fatah in anti-terror tactics''
Matthew Kalman, San Francisco Chronicle, 14 December 2006 The US was highly involved with the training of officers, coordinated by

Lt. Gen. Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...

Keith Dayton Keith W. Dayton (born March 7, 1949) is a retired lieutenant general in the United States Army who currently serves as the director of the George C. Marshall European Center for Security Studies in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany. Dayton served ...

. The training was part of a systematic effort to bolster Abbas and his Fatah loyalists to counter the political success of

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-Qas ...

, who had won the 2006 legislative election and formed the new PA government. Hamas had formed its own security service within the Palestinian Authority, the Executive Force.''U.S. Plan Would Expand Palestinian Leader’s Security Force''
Steven Erlanger, New York Times, 4 October 2006 As of 2006, the estimated strength of the PPG was some 3,500 men, while a considerable increase was planned.

Gallery

File:President Donald Trump participates in arrival ceremonies with President Mahmoud Abbas of the Palestinian Authority at the Presidential Palace, Tuesday, May 23, 2017, in Bethlehem. (03).jpg, File:Vladimir Putin in Palestine June 26, 2012- 02.jpg, File:Dmitry Medvedev in Palestine 18 January 2011-1.jpeg, File:Bush abbas presidential guard.jpg,

References

{{reflist, 30em Palestinian Security Services Guards of honour

Establishment

Gallery

See also

References