Israel Border Police
The Israel Border Police is the combat branch of the
Israeli Police. It is also commonly known by its Hebrew abbreviation Magav , meaning border guard. Border Guard is often used as the official name of the Israel Border Police in English.
Encyclopedia
The
Israel Border Police is the combat branch of the
Israeli Police. It is also commonly known by its Hebrew abbreviation
Magav , meaning border guard. Border Guard is often used as the official name of the Israel Border Police in English.
History
The Border Police was founded as the Frontier Corps , 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 and had not been informed about the curfew were shot as they returned to the village, resulting in 49 dead. The massacre 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 is established.
In October Riots the Border Police 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.
Yechidat Shai
In January of 2006 the South Jerusalem Border Guard took existing volunteers from within its ranks and formed an all volunteer unit known as "Yechidat Shai" . The soldiers of this special unit work in regular jobs in the day and serve in this combat unit at night.
"Yechidat Shai" and the Border Guard in general have been responsible for a number of high profile captures that are generally attributed to the IDF.
The soldiers of Yechidat Shai receive no pay and some come from as far as Ofra, Shilo,
Ra'anana,
Ashkelon and even
Haifa in order to serve in this special unit.
Structure
The Border Police is composed of professional officers on payroll and field policemen redirected from the
IDF . All border policemen receive combat training and in addition are also trained for CT ,
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 , 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 units and community security coordinators . 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 ,
Yamas ,
Yamag and
Matilan .
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.
See also
External links
