Israeli Security Forces - Police - Border Police
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.
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
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.
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 Arra.
The YAMAM record includes the capture of a terrorist group hidden in the
Arab town of Taibe, the rescue of Eliyaho Goral, the killing of Hamas
head in Hebron, Abbedullah Qawasameh and the foiling of an massacre
attempt in Yokne'am school by Palestinian terrorists.
From:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Israel_Border_Police
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