Palestinian Civil Police Force

Palestinian Civil Police Arabic:الشرطة المدنية الفلسطينية, al-Shurtah al-Madaniyah al-Filistiniyah'
Logo of the Palestinian Civil Police
Agency overview
Legal personality	Governmental: Government agency
Jurisdictional structure
National agency	Palestinian Authority
Governing body	Palestinian Security Services
General nature	Law enforcement Civilian police
Operational structure
Website
http://www.palpolice.ps/ar/

The Palestinian Civil Police Force (Arabic: الشرطة المدنية الفلسطينية‎‎, al-Shurtah al-Madaniyah al-Filistiniyah) is the Civil Police organization tasked with traditional law enforcement duties in the autonomous territory governed by the Palestinian National Authority. The Civil Police is a part of the Palestinian Security Services.

The Civil Police was formally established with the May 1994 signing of the Gaza–Jericho Agreement, a chapter in the Oslo Accords process, under the umbrella of the General Security Service. Founded with over 10,000 officers, it was the largest substituent of the Palestinian National Security Forces. The agreement called for the civil police maintaining public order from 25 stations throughout the Palestinian-administered parts of the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.

Long-time Police head Ghazi al-Jabali was criticised for corruption and curbing press and civil rights freedoms. In 2004 he was kidnapped by the Jenin Martyrs Brigades, part of the Popular Resistance Committees, and only released after Palestinian President Yasser Arafat agreed to fire him. Al-Jabali was replaced with Arafat's cousin, Musa Arafat, a move which did little to restore public confidence in Police.

According to the International Crisis Group, Palestinian police and security forces succeeded in effectively "preventing, prosecuting and reducing crime" in the late 1990s.

During the course of the Second Intifada and its armed conflict, Palestinian police were unable to patrol armed or in uniform, lest they be engaged by Israeli security forces as combatants. As the armed conflict petered out after three years, Palestinian police forces returned to regular operations in 2003-2004.