Israel Border Police
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The Israel Border Police (Hebrew: משמר הגבול, Mishmar HaGvul) is the combat branch of the Israeli Police. It is also commonly known by its Hebrew abbreviation Magav (Hebrew: מג"ב), meaning border guard. Border Guard is often used as the official name of the Israel Border Police in English.
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[edit] History
The Border Police was founded as the Frontier Corps (Hebrew: חיל הספר), 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 and became the Border Police. During these years, it secured new settlements and countered infiltration of Palestinians, especially from Egypt and Jordan.
During the 1956 Suez War, the Border Police was involved in the Kafr Qasim massacre. On the second day of the war, a curfew was imposed on the Israeli Arab village. Villagers who had worked in the village fields are rumored not to have been informed about 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 Border Police took part in the fighting alongside the IDF. Following the war, it was deployed in the West Bank and Gaza Strip 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 Intifada.
In 1974, the counter-terror unit YAMAM was established.
In the October Riots the Border Police were used as the main branch of the treatment in the events. During al-Aqsa Intifada the Border Police took a large part in the security activity.
In 2005 the Border Police participated in the implementation of the disengagement plan.
In 2006 the Jerusalem Border Guard was responsible for the capture of Hamas cabinet member Muhammad Abu Tir in Operation Summer Rains. Abu Tir, a resident of East Jerusalem's neighborhood Jabel Mukaber was subsequently stripped of his Israeli citizenship.
The Border Guards heaviest area of operation is the City of Jerusalem. Virtually all soldiers that can be seen patrolling the streets of Jerusalem are Border Guard servicemen. Approximately 20% of all Border Guard personnel in the country are located in the City of Jerusalem alone.
The total number of Border Guards is believed to be about 6000 soldiers and officers. Other than Jerusalem, they are serving in cities like Jenin, Tulkarem, Qalqilyah, Nablus, Jericho, Ramallah and Hebron.
[edit] Structure
The Border Police is composed of professional officers on payroll and field policemen redirected from the IDF (men at the age of 18 can choose to serve in the Border Police instead of the IDF, serving 3 years as a border policeman is equal to 3 years as an IDF soldier). All border policemen receive combat training and in addition are also trained for CT (counter-terrorism), riot control and policework. Excellent policemen can specialize in some profession and receive special training to become snipers, buggie-drivers, dog operators, bomb squad etc.
Because of their combat training, border policemen are employed in unquiet areas, where there are greater risks for riots, violence and even terror. They serve mainly at the countryside, at Arab villages and towns (along with the regular police), near the borders and at the West Bank.
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.
The Border Police has four SF units: Yamam (Counter-Terror and Hostage Rescue unit), Yamas (Counter-Terror Undercover Unit), Yamag (Tactical Counter-Crime and Counter-Terror Rapid Deployment Unit) and Matilan (Intelligence Gathering and Infiltrations Interception Unit).
The Border Police has an excellent record of thwarting terrorist attacks. One of the most famous incidents is the capture of a car bomb, containing more than 500 kg of explosives, near Wadi Ara.
The Yamam record includes the capture of a terrorist group hidden in the Arab town of Tayibe, the rescue of Eliyahu Goral, the killing of the Hamas head in Hebron, Abbedullah Qawasameh, and the foiling of a massacre attempt in a Yokneam school by Palestinian terrorists.
[edit] Volunteer Border Guard
The Border Guard also deploys a large number of 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 re-enforce 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.
Many of these special Border Guard volunteers are comprised of Jewish immigrants that have immigrated to Israel from all over the world from places like America, France, Russia, South Africa, England, Sweden, etc.[citation needed]
The volunteer Border Guard members leave behind jobs & families on a regular basis in order to serve in this special combat unit. Some come from as far away as Shilo, Ofrah, Ashkelon, Ra'anana and even Haifa to serve in the Jerusalem Border Guard. The volunteers receive no pay for serving in the Border Guard units.
[edit] References
- Arno Klarsfeld, Yves Derai, Israël transit: Entretiens avec Yves Derai, L' Archipel, ISBN 2-84187-465-6
