The Palestinian Preventive Security (PPS; Arabic: الأمن الوقائي, romanized: Al-’amn al-wiqā’ī), also known as Preventive Security Force (PSF), Preventive Security Service (PSS), is one of the security organs of the State of Palestine. It was established in 1994 by president Yasser Arafat in accordance with the Oslo Accords.
| Al-'amn al-wiqa'i الأمن الوقائي | |
 | |
| Agency overview | |
|---|---|
| Formed | 1994 |
| Jurisdiction | State of Palestine, Gaza Strip (until 2007) |
| Headquarters | Ramallah, West Bank |
| Agency executives |
|
| Parent agency | Palestinian Security Services |
The PPS is an internal intelligence organization, part of the Palestinian Security Services, and led by the Minister of the Interior. Its main tasks are protecting the internal security of Palestine and the Palestinian 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] In Gaza Strip, PPS security forces were led by Mohammed Dahlan until he and his soldiers were forced to leave by Hamas in 2007 after their defeat in Battle of Gaza.[3]
The PPS has long been one of the most powerful intelligence organizations, mainly to protect the Oslo peace process. In the late 1990s, the "Security and Protection Department" or so-called "Death Squad" was established, aimed at activists of Hamas 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, following Yasser 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's military occupation, alleged repression, and displacement are facilitated by the Palestinian Authority and its forces. The Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research, Palestinian think tank located in Ramallah, 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 in West 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 the Palestinian Legislative Council.
The Preventive Security is led by the Minister 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.
Leadership
- Jibril Rajoub (West Bank) 1994 - 2002 headed the Force until July 2002.[7][8]
- Majid Faraj joined the PSF from 1994, when the Preventive Force was established, and headed by Jibril Rajoub. In 2000, he was in charge of the Bethlehem district. In 2006, Faraj was promoted to the head of military intelligence in the West Bank. Abbas appointed him chief of the General Intelligence Service in 2009.[9]
- Mohammed Dahlan (Gaza) (1994 - 2002) was the first chief of the Palestinian Security Force in Gaza from 1994 to 2002.
- Rashid Abu Shabak (Gaza) (2002 - 2004)
- Zuhair Manasra (West Bank) (2002 - 2004)
- Rashid Abu Shabak (2005 - 2007) In April 2005, Rashid Abu Shbak became head of the PSF in both West Bank and Gaza. In February 2006, he was appointed head of the new Palestinian Security Services, which included the PSF.[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 - Present)
- Deputy Director Taher Mohammed Aqraa
Developments
Second Intifada
The PPS was accused by Israel of playing a covert role in the Second Intifada that erupted in September 2000 after Ariel Sharon's visit to the Temple Mount. In 2001, it shelled the house of General Jibril 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 the Operation Defensive Shield, the largest Israeli military campaign in the West Bank since its occupation in 1967. The headquarters of PPS in Beitunia 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]
See also
References
- ^ The Palestinian Security Services: Past and Present. MIFTAH, 30 May 2006
- ^ 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
- ^ a b "Preventive Security (PS)". Mapping Palestinian Politics. December 7, 2018.
- ^ Entry-points to Palestinian Security Sector Reform, Appendix A, p. 158. Roland Friedrich and Arnold Luethold, DCAF, 2007
- ^ "What to know about Palestinian security forces and their role in West Bank". The Washington Post. July 11, 2023.
- ^ Roland Friedrich, Arnold Luethold and Firas Milhem, The Security Sector Legislation of the Palestinian National Authority Archived 2016-10-07 at the Wayback Machine, pp. 261-264 (3,2 MB). Geneva Centre for the Democratic Control of Armed Forces (DCAF), January 2008. On website
- ^ Preventive Security Service Graduation Ceremony, 19 May 1996. Nigel Parry, accessed December 2015
- ^ Report: Palestinian police chief to run against Arafat. CNN, 4 July 2002
- ^ Palestinian Intel Chief - and Abbas' Potential Successor - Boasts of Efforts to Foil Attacks Against Israel (premium article). Jack Khoury, Haaretz, 31 January 2016
- ^ Hamas: From Resistance to Government. Paola Caridi, Seven Stories Press, 2012.
[Rashid Abu Shbak] "returned in 1994, upon installment of the PNA and became Mohammed Dahlan's deputy in the Gaza Preventative [sic] Security Force, of which he took charge in 2002. In April 2005, he began his rise to the very top of the security services when Abu Mazen appointed him head of the Preventative [sic] Security Force in the West Bank and Gaza. On February 20, 2006, he was appointed head of the security services. - ^ Hamas hails 'liberation' of Gaza. BBC, 14 June 2007