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| Israel Border Police מִשְׁמַר הַגְּבוּל Mišmar Ha-Gvul | |
|---|---|
 Emblem of Magav | |
 Flag of Israel Border Police | |
| Common name | Magav |
| Agency overview | |
| Formed | 1953 |
| Preceding agency |
|
| Employees | ≈8,000 soldiers and officers |
| Jurisdictional structure | |
| National agency | Israel |
| Operations jurisdiction | Israel |
| Governing body | Israel Police |
| General nature | |
| Specialist jurisdiction |
|
| Website | |
| www.police.gov.il | |
TheIsrael Border Police (Hebrew:מִשְׁמַר הַגְּבוּל,romanized: Mišmar Ha-Gvul) is thegendarmerie andborder security branch of theIsrael Police. It is also commonly known by its Hebrew abbreviationMagav (מג"ב), meaningborder guard; its members are colloquially known asmagavnikim (מג"בניקים; singularmagavnik). "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 to assist theIsrael Defense Forces, and forcounter-terrorism andlaw enforcement operations in theIsraeli-occupiedWest Bank and inJerusalem.
The Israeli Border Police is known to include many soldiers from minority backgrounds, being a particularly popular choice forDruze recruits, and also including many soldiers fromCircassian,Arab Christian, andBedouin backgrounds.[1]
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The Border Police was founded in 1949 as the Frontier Corps (חיל הספר,Heil HaSfar), agendarmerie under theIDF with the task of providing security in rural areas and along the borders. Over the following years, it was gradually transferred to the command of thePolice and became the Border Police. During these years, it secured new settlements and countered infiltration of Palestinianfedayeen, especially fromEgypt andJordan.
During the1956 Suez War, the Border Police was involved in theKafr Qasim massacre. On the second day of the war, a curfew was imposed on theIsraeli Arab village. Villagers who had worked in the village fields and were apparently unaware of the curfew were shot as they returned to the village,[2] resulting in 49 dead. This event was strongly protested by the Israeli public and resulted in a landmark Supreme Court ruling on the obligation of soldiers to disobey manifestly illegal orders.
During the 1967Six-Day War, the Border Police fought alongside theIDF. After the war, it was deployed in theWest Bank andGaza Strip and charged with maintaining law and order as part of the military administration ofIsraeli-occupied territories. Since then, a significant portion of the Border Police's activity has been in these territories, especially during the years of theFirst Intifada and theSecond (al-Aqsa) Intifada.
In 1974, thecounter-terror unitYamam was established.
In the 2000October Riots, the Border Police was 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 theIsraeli disengagement from Gaza.
The Border Police's heaviest area of operation is Jerusalem. Virtually all "soldiers" seen patrolling Jerusalem's streets are Border Guard Police officers. Approximately 20% of all Border Guard personnel in the country are in Jerusalem. Jerusalem MAGAV also provides security and conducts military operations, raids, and arrests on Palestinians in cities likeJenin,Nablus,Jericho,Qalqilya,Tulkarm,Ramallah, andHebron.
In 2023, theNational Guard of Israel was formed and attached to the Israel Border Police.
The number of Border Guards is believed to be about 6,000 soldiers and officers.
The Border Police is composed of professional officers on payroll and field policemen redirected from theIDF (at age 18, Israelis can choose to serve in the Border Police instead of the IDF). All border policemen are trained in combat,counter-terrorism,riot control, and police work. Outstanding officers can train as specialists, such assnipers, buggy-drivers, dog operators, or bomb squad members.
Because of their combat training, border police are employed in areas with greater risk of riots, violence and terror. They serve mainly in the countryside, in Arab villages and towns (along with the regular police), near the borders and in theWest 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 fourSpecial forces units:
TheYamam (Hebrew:ימ"מ, an acronym forCentralized Special Unitיחידה מרכזית מיוחדת,Yeḥida Merkazit Meyuḥedet), also called in Hebrewהיחידה המיוחדת ללוחמה בטרור andIsrael's National Counter Terror Unit (I.N.C.T.U.) in English, is Israel's national counter-terrorism unit. The Yamam is capable of both hostage-rescue operations and offensive takeover raids against terrorist targets in civilian areas. Besides military and counter-terrorism duties, it also performsSWAT duties and undercover police work. The unit operates snipers, police dog (K9) handlers, rappelling teams,EOD experts, paramedics, and undercover operators.
YAMAM was formed in 1974 as a response to a wave of Palestinian terrorism. The unit has since carried out thousands of operations, killed hundreds of terrorists, and foiled countless terror attacks. It was awarded five citations of recommendation (Hebrew:צל"ש) from the Police Commissioner and one from theIDFChief of general staff (Hebrew:צל"ש הרמטכ"ל).
TheYamas is the undercover counter-terror unit.
The Yamas is often expected to carry out complex missions with little or no preparation, often involving daylight raids in volatile areas. It does not follow regular military or police command structure and answers directly to theShabak. The IDF long denied its existence.
The Border Guard also deploys many volunteers. These members serve in regular Border Guard units. The Border Guard relies on volunteer soldiers to reinforce its manpower and help maintain Israel's security needs. The volunteer Border Guard are given special attention in sensitive places like Jerusalem where security threats are highest and sometimes 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 who immigrated to Israel from places like theUnited States,United Kingdom,Canada,Australia,Italy,France,Germany,South Africa,South America, and the formerSoviet Union.[3]
Volunteer Border Guard members leave behind jobs and families on a regular basis to serve in this combat unit. Some come from cities like Beit Shemesh, Ofrah, Ashkelon, Ra'anana and Haifa. They are not paid for serving in the Border Guard and serve in their spare time.
Below is a list of current and former Border Police commanders.
Border Police ranks are the same as those of theIsrael Police 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. But 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 PoliceBritish Army style insignia are white with blue interwoven threads backed with the appropriate corps color.
| Rank group | General / flag officers | Senior officers | Junior officers | |||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Israel Border Police | .png) | .png) | .png) | .png) | .png) | .png) | .png) | .png) | ||||||||||||||||
| ניצב Nitzav | תת ניצב Tat nitzav | ניצב משנה Nitzav mishneh | סגן ניצב Sgan nitzav | רב פקד Rav pakad | פקד Pakad | מפקח Mefake'ah | מפקח משנה Mefake'ah mishneh | |||||||||||||||||
| English | Deputy commissioner | Assistant commissioner | Commander | Chief superintendent | Superintendent | Chief inspector | Inspector | Sub-inspector | ||||||||||||||||
| Israel Border Police |  |
|---|---|
| צוער Tzoar | |
| English | Officer cadet |
| Rank group | Senior NCOs | Junior NCOs | Enlisted | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Israel Border Police | .png) | .png) | .png) | .png) | .png) | .png) | .png) | .png) | .png) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| רב נגד Rav nagad | רב סמל בכיר Rav samal bakhir | רב סמל מתקדם Rav samal mitkadem | רב סמל ראשון Rav samal rishon | רב סמל Rav samal | סמל ראשון Samal rishon | סמל שני Samal sheni | רב שוטר Rav shoter | שוטר Shoter | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| English | Station sergeant major | Sergeant major | First sergeant | Master sergeant | Sergeant first class | Staff sergeant | Sergeant | Corporal | Constable | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The Border has several types of uniforms:
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.
The service uniform for all Border Police personnel is grey. The uniforms consist of a two-pocket shirt, plain orcombat trousers, sweater, jacket or blouse, and shoes or boots. The greyfatigues 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.[6]
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.[6]
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The primary Border Police weapons are theCAR-15 andM-16 rifles, some of which are attached to theM-203 grenade launcher. The Border Police also use standard IDF equipment such as vests and helmets. Special units of Border Police useGlock 17,Glock 19,Jericho, orFN HP pistols. Some units, such as the Jerusalem Patrol Unit, carry theBeretta M9-22LR .22LR pistol. Special units use a variety of other weapons,Ruger S22s,[7] sniper rifles, submachine guns, and shotguns.
The Border Police extensively use riot dispersal means such as batons and shields, tear gas canisters,stun grenades,rubber bullets, andwater cannons.
The Border Police useToyota Hilux,Carkal,Dawid wheeledarmored personnel carriers and a variety of patrol cars and vehicles. Several units use motorcycles andATVs.
The Border Police Memorial and Heritage Center[8] is in the western Carmel mountains near Zomet Iron at road 65.[9]
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In 2001, the Israeli NGOB'tselem reported 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 officers who perpetrate such acts was difficult, since Border Police, in contravention of the law, do 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.[10][11]
