The Palestinian Presidential Guard (PPG; ) is a branch of the
Palestinian Security Services 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 the Palestinian Declaration of Independence. The title was origina ...
. Its primary role is protection of the President and other
VIPs, as well as performing ceremonial functions. The force may also perform special combat functions.
Establishment
The predecessor of the Presidential Guard was the "Presidential Security", established in 1994 by then
President of the Palestinian Authority (PA),
Yasser Arafat
Yasser Arafat (4 or 24 August 1929 – 11 November 2004), also popularly known by his Kunya (Arabic), kunya Abu Ammar, was a Palestinian political leader. He was chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) from 1969 to 2004, Presid ...
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 (; born 15 November 1935), also known by the Kunya (Arabic), kunya Abu Mazen (, ), is a Palestinian politician who has been serving as the second president of Palestine and the President of the Palestinian National Authority, P ...
. 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 ( ; ), formally the Palestinian National Liberation Movement (), is a Palestinian nationalist and Arab socialist political party. It is the largest faction of the confederated multi-party Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and ...
activists loyal to Abbas.
The US was highly involved with the training of officers, coordinated by
Lt. Gen. Keith Dayton. The training was part of a systematic effort to bolster Abbas and his Fatah loyalists to counter the political success of
Hamas
The Islamic Resistance Movement, abbreviated Hamas (the Arabic acronym from ), is a Palestinian nationalist Sunni Islam, Sunni Islamism, Islamist political organisation with a military wing, the Qassam Brigades. It has Gaza Strip under Hama ...
, 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.
[
]
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,
See also
* Palestinian Civil Defence
* Palestinian Security Services
* Palestinian National Security Forces
*Palestinian Civil Police Force
The Palestinian Civil Police Force (PCP; ) is the police, Civil Police organization tasked with traditional law enforcement duties in the autonomous territory governed by the Palestinian National Authority. The Civil Police is a part of the Pale ...
* Palestinian Preventive Security
* Palestinian General Intelligence Service
* Palestinian Military Intelligence Service
References
{{commons category
Palestinian Security Services
Guards of honour