ThePalestinian Preventive Security (PPS;Arabic:الأمن الوقائي,romanized: Al-’amn al-wiqā’ī), also known asPreventive Security Force (PSF;Arabic:جهاز الأمن الوقائي) orPreventive Security Service (PSS), is one of the security organs of theState of Palestine. It was established in 1994 by presidentYasser Arafat in accordance with theOslo Accords.
The PPS is an internal intelligence organization, part of thePalestinian Security Services, and led by theMinister of the Interior. Its main tasks are protecting the internal security of Palestine and thePalestinian Authority, and preventing crimes which target governmental departments and public bodies and institutions. It was the keeper of the Oslo peace process.
Organization
The PPS is one of several intelligence services of Palestine. According to some sources, 5,000 plain-clothed members served in separate units in the West Bank and Gaza in 2006.[1][2] InGaza Strip, PPS security forces were led byMohammed Dahlan until he and his soldiers were forced to leave byHamas in 2007 after their defeat inBattle of Gaza.[3]
In the late 1990s, the"Security and Protection Department" or so-called"Death Squad" was established, aimed at activists ofHamas and Islamic Jihad. In 2007, the estimated strength was 3,500 in the West Bank and 4,500 in Gaza.[4] SPD worked closely with Israel’s Internal Security Agencies in arresting, interrogating, and sometimes torturing Palestinians who were then arrested by Israel. In 2005, followingYasser Arafat's death, the PPS's Security and Protection Department was disbanded as part of the security sector reform process.[3]
Many Palestinians think that Israel'smilitary occupation, alleged repression, and displacement are facilitated by thePalestinian Authority and its forces. ThePalestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research, Palestinian think tank located inRamallah, found that in March 2023, for the first time since the authority's establishment, the majority of Palestinians believed that its dissolution or collapse was in their best interests. 66% of Palestinians living inWest Bank, according to a June PCPSR survey, were in favor of the creation of armed groups that are not under the control of the government security forces.[5]
2007 reform
In November 2007, President Mahmoud Abba issued"Decree Law No. ( ) of 2007 Concerning the Preventive Security", which re-defined the Preventive Security. The Law is not approved by thePalestinian Legislative Council.
The Preventive Security is led by theMinister of the Interior and headed by the Director-General of the Directorate-General of the Preventive Security. According to the 2007 Law, the duties of the Preventive Security are:[6]
Working to protect the Palestinian internal security.
Following up on crimes which threaten the internal security of the National Authority and/or those imposed thereon, as well as working towards their prevention.
Uncovering crimes which target governmental departments and public bodies and institutions, as well as the employees thereat.
Joined PSF from 1994, in charge of Bethlehem district in 2000, promoted to head of Military Intelligence in 2006, chief of General Intelligence Service in 2009.[9]
Mohammed Dahlan
Gaza
1994–2002
First chief of the Palestinian Security Force in Gaza
Rashid Abu Shabak
Gaza
2002–2004
Zuhair Manasra
West Bank
2002–2004
Rashid Abu Shabak
West Bank & Gaza
2005–2007
In April 2005, became head of PSF in both West Bank and Gaza; appointed head of Palestinian Security Services in Feb 2006.[10]
Suleiman Abu Mutlaq
Gaza
2005–2006
Yousef Ali Issa
Gaza
2006–2007
Ziad Hab Al-Reeh
West Bank
2005–2007
Ziad Hab Al-Reeh
2007–2021
Abdul Qader Al-Taamari
2021–2025
Iyad Aqra
2025–present
Nizar AlHaj
2025–present
Deputy Director of the Preventive Security Force
Developments
Second Intifada
The PPS was accused byIsrael of playing a covert role in theSecond Intifada that erupted in September 2000 afterAriel Sharon's visit to theTemple Mount. In 2001, it shelled the house of GeneralJibril Rajoub, then colonel, who at the time was the PPS director. A number of PPS officers were also assassinated, injured and arrested. In April 2002, Sharon ordered theOperation Defensive Shield, the largest Israeli military campaign in theWest Bank since its occupation in 1967. The headquarters of PPS inBeitunia was placed under a military siege, with intensive shelling by tanks and Apaches, reducing the headquarters to rubble, and injuring dozens of officers.[citation needed]
2007
On 14 June 2007, Hamas militants took over the Preventive Security building in Gaza City and the intelligence service headquarters in Gaza.[11]
^The Associated Press mentioned the number of 5,000 members, located in Gaza, as of January 2005:Palestinian security forces. Associated Press, 19 January 2005
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