The Palestinian Preventive Security (PPS; ), also known as Preventive Security Force (PSF; ) or Preventive Security Service (PSS), is one of the security organs of the

State of Palestine Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and th ...

. It was established in 1994 by president

Yasser Arafat Yasser Arafat (4 or 24 August 1929 – 11 November 2004), also popularly known by his Kunya (Arabic), kunya Abu Ammar, was a Palestinian political leader. He was chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) from 1969 to 2004, Presid ...

in accordance with the

Oslo Accords The Oslo Accords are a pair of interim agreements between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO): the Oslo I Accord, signed in Washington, D.C., in 1993; and the Oslo II Accord, signed in Taba, Egypt, in 1995. They marked the st ...

. The PPS is an internal intelligence organization, part of the Palestinian Security Services, and led by the

Minister of the Interior An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of home affairs) is a cabinet official position that is responsible for internal affairs, such as public security, civil registration and identification, emergency ...

. Its main tasks are protecting the internal security of Palestine and the

Palestinian Authority The Palestinian Authority (PA), officially known as the Palestinian National Authority (PNA), is the Fatah-controlled government body that exercises partial civil control over the Palestinian enclaves in the Israeli occupation of the West Bank, ...

, 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.''The Palestinian Security Services: Past and Present''
MIFTAH, 30 May 2006The Associated Press mentioned the number of 5,000 members, located in Gaza, as of January 2005
''Palestinian security forces''
Associated Press, 19 January 2005 In

Gaza Strip The Gaza Strip, also known simply as Gaza, is a small territory located on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea; it is the smaller of the two Palestinian territories, the other being the West Bank, that make up the State of Palestine. I ...

, PPS security forces were led by Mohammed Dahlan until he and his soldiers were forced to leave by

Hamas The Islamic Resistance Movement, abbreviated Hamas (the Arabic acronym from ), is a Palestinian nationalist Sunni Islam, Sunni Islamism, Islamist political organisation with a military wing, the Qassam Brigades. It has Gaza Strip under Hama ...

in 2007 after their defeat in Battle of Gaza. In the late 1990s, the ''"Security and Protection Department"'' or so-called ''"Death Squad"'' was established, aimed at activists of

and Islamic Jihad. In 2007, the estimated strength was 3,500 in the West Bank and 4,500 in Gaza.''Entry-points to Palestinian Security Sector Reform''
Appendix A, p. 158. Roland Friedrich and Arnold Luethold, DCAF, 2007 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

's death, the PPS's Security and Protection Department was disbanded as part of the security sector reform process. Many Palestinians think that Israel's

military occupation Military occupation, also called belligerent occupation or simply occupation, is temporary hostile control exerted by a ruling power's military apparatus over a sovereign territory that is outside of the legal boundaries of that ruling pow ...

, alleged repression, and displacement are facilitated by the

and its forces. The

Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research The Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research (PCPSR) () is a non-profit Palestinian research organisation and think tank based in Ramallah established for "advancing scholarship and knowledge on immediate issues of concern to Palestini ...

, Palestinian think tank located in

Ramallah Ramallah ( , ; ) is a Palestinians, Palestinian city in the central West Bank, that serves as the administrative capital of the State of Palestine. It is situated on the Judaean Mountains, north of Jerusalem, at an average elevation of abov ...

, 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 The West Bank is located on the western bank of the Jordan River and is the larger of the two Palestinian territories (the other being the Gaza Strip) that make up the State of Palestine. A landlocked territory near the coast of the Mediter ...

, 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.

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 Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) is the Unicameralism, unicameral legislature of the Palestinian National Authority, Palestinian Authority, elected by the Palestinians, Palestinian residents of the Palestinian territories of the Wes ...

. The Preventive Security is led by the

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:Roland Friedrich, Arnold Luethold and Firas Milhem
''The Security Sector Legislation of the Palestinian National Authority''
, pp. 261-264 (3,2 MB). Geneva Centre for the Democratic Control of Armed Forces (DCAF), January 2008
On website
/ref> # 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. ** 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.''Palestinian Intel Chief - and Abbas' Potential Successor - Boasts of Efforts to Foil Attacks Against Israel''
(premium article). Jack Khoury, Haaretz, 31 January 2016 * 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. **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 Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

of playing a covert role in the

Second Intifada The Second Intifada (; ), also known as the Al-Aqsa Intifada, was a major uprising by Palestinians against Israel and its Israeli-occupied territories, occupation from 2000. Starting as a civilian uprising in Jerusalem and October 2000 prot ...

that erupted in September 2000 after

Ariel Sharon Ariel Sharon ( ; also known by his diminutive Arik, ; 26 February 192811 January 2014) was an Israeli general and politician who served as the prime minister of Israel from March 2001 until April 2006. Born in Kfar Malal in Mandatory Palestin ...

's visit to the

Temple Mount The Temple Mount (), also known as the Noble Sanctuary (Arabic: الحرم الشريف, 'Haram al-Sharif'), and sometimes as Jerusalem's holy esplanade, is a hill in the Old City of Jerusalem, Old City of Jerusalem that has been venerated as a ...

. 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

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.

2007

On 14 June 2007, Hamas militants took over the Preventive Security building in Gaza City and the intelligence service headquarters in Gaza.''Hamas hails 'liberation' of Gaza''
BBC, 14 June 2007

References

External links

''Preventive Security Service Graduation Ceremony, 19 May 1996''''Marsad — The Palestinian Security Sector Observatory''
{{National intelligence agencies Law enforcement in Palestine Palestinian Security Services Domestic intelligence agencies