Israeli Border Police
| Israel Border Police | |
|---|---|
| Common name | Magav |
Emblem of Magav
|
|
| Agency overview | |
| Formed | 1953 |
| Preceding agency | Frontier Corps |
| Employees | ≈8,000 soldiers and officers |
| Legal personality | Governmental: Government agency |
| Jurisdictional structure | |
| National agency | Israel |
| Governing body | Israel Police |
| General nature | |
| Operational structure | |
| Website | |
| www.police.gov.il/English_contentPage.aspx | |
The Israel Border Police (Hebrew: מִשְׁמַר הַגְּבוּל, Mišmar Ha-Gvul) is the gendarmerie and border security branch of the Israel National Police. It is also commonly known by its Hebrew abbreviation Magav (מג"ב), meaning border guard; its members are colloquially known as Magavnikim (מג"בניקים). 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 in assisting the Israel Defense Forces, and for counter-terrorism and law enforcement operations in the West Bank, as well as in Jerusalem.
The Israeli Border Police is renowned for including a large number of soldiers from minority backgrounds, being a particularly popular choice with Druze recruits, but also includes many soldiers from Circassian, Arab Christian and Bedouin background.
The Border Police was founded as the Frontier Corps (חיל הספר, Heil HaSfar), 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 Palestinian Fedayeen, especially from Egypt and Jordan.
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