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The military police of the i Military Police . The military police serves the Human Resources Directorate in the IDF, although it falls under a different command during an emergency situation (such as war). The military police has attracted a negative image over the years due to it being responsible for putting many Israeli soldiers in jail for various misconducts, but this image is thought to be recovering, especially as of 2004 when the police started to check Palestinians at checkpoints (a position most Israelis consider vital for the state's security). The military police is also known for having one of the strictest levels of discipline in the IDF. It is also one of the first corps to allow women to perform equal duties to men, and the first corps to have a combat-certified woman. In the Israel Defense Forces, it is responsible for the following:
::''This responsibility was passed to the military police in 2003 (formally) and 2004 (in practice), before which it was taken up by other corps.'' The military police follows the principle of A Choice in Life, which says no to traffic accidents, narcotics, alcohol, suicide and improper use of weapons. HISTORY , Robert Gates in Tel Aviv ]] The Israeli Military Police was founded in 1936, as a Jewish youth paramilitary organization called '' Notrim ''. It was legal under British Mandate law, unlike its many counterparts such as the Haganah . Its original purpose was to defend and police Jewish Yishuv localities during the 1936-1939 Arab Revolt In Palestine . In 1937, the organization was given permission to expand, due to lack of British manpower allocated for defending Jewish villages in Palestine. During World War II , HaNotrim became part of the Jewish Brigade s, where it grew and became more known among the Palestinian Jewish public. Many new recruits joined the organization, where they went through a filtering process where it was decided what unit they were to be placed in. In 1944, an order was given by the Haganah to create its own military police, and the task was given to a captain in the Jewish Brigades named Daniel Lifshitz (later Danny Magen). Lifshitz trained recruits at a British training base near Cairo , Egypt . During Israel's fight for independence between 1945 and 47, the Jewish leadership created the Military Police out of the organization, which became a small contingent of four units (Disciplinary Military Police, Traffic Supervision Military Police, Investigations Military Police, and the Prison Division), each proficient in its respective field. The first military police course took place during Israel's founding and the military police immediately joined the effort to fight the invading Arab forces. Military police troops participated in Operation Yoav , Operation Ovda , and others. Overall however, the military police concentrated on creating road signs and guiding troop movement. In 1949, the name of the military police was changed from Military Police Service (''Sherut Mishtara Tzva'it'') to Military Police Corps (''Heil HaMishtara HaTzva'it'') and a symbol was created for the new corps. The military police symbol consists of a shield and five flame tongues which, according to the creators, represent the five unbreakable truths of the military police:
Interestingly, the military police pin, or ''hamatzon'', has only four flame tongues, likely due to the designers not knowing about the original meaning of the symbol. A sixth flame tongue is sometimes added to specific unit insignia, symbolizing the purity of scale. A dog trainer unit was founded in the military police and used dogs to detect explosives and injured and dead bodies. Despite its many successes, it was disbanded in 1954 due to a lack of funding. Today, a similar unit is operated by the Israel Border Police . During the Suez Crisis of 1956, military police troops operated near the front lines, putting road signs in the Sinai Peninsula . For the first time, the issue of POW s was brought up and the military police built prisons in Nitzanim in the south, and Atlit in the north, to contain the 5500 or so prisoners or war captured during the Suez War. As a result, Israel's only Military Prison at the time, Prison Four, suffered neglection and it was decided to build another prison (Prison Six) near Atlit. In the Six-Day War , military policemen were placed in every major Israeli road intersection and guided military traffic. Some MPs were integrated into combat units and fought on the front lines. Notably, a military police contingent was tasked with guarding the conquered Gaza's commercial centers, which were plundered during the war. The prison service wing was responsible for guarding Egyptian prisoners of war captured in the Sinai Peninsula. In the Yom Kippur War , the military police greatly assisted in the chaos of the surprise attack on Israel, guiding reserve reinforcements to their intended destinations. Certain military police units fought on the front lines. The investigations department of the military police was tasked with finding Israeli MIA s, numbering about 900 at the time. The military police was involved in various ways in Operation Peace For Galilee . It was stationed at a base in Tyre (mainly with Israel Border Police troops), which was subject to two explosions. Many MPs were killed during both, which became known as the Type Catastrophe and the Type Catastrophe B. In 2005, one of the elite military police units, Sahlav , was disbanded because its role was no longer needed in the military police, and because its troops refused to identify with the military police during Israel's Unilateral Disengagement from the Gaza Strip . The Sahlav Company still exists by name and guards checkpoints as part of the Taoz Battalion in the security examinations sector. TRAINING Basic training See also: Recruit Training . In the Israeli Military Police, recruits must complete the Extended Rifleman 02 basic training, which is 6 weeks long, making it one of the easiest basic training programs in the IDF. It is however one of the most difficult types of basic training that is considered non-combat (''See also: Tironut ''). Recruits must also pass a test in law enforcement (after 2-4 days worth of lessons) in order to finish basic training. Military police recruit training puts a special emphasis on discipline. While traditionally there were two companies in each round of recruits - a male company (''Pa'''sh'''a'''tz''''' - ''Plugat Shotrim Tzvai'im'') and a female company (''Plugat Shotrot''), as of February 2006 the male and female recruits form one training company, although each platoon has recruits of only one sex; commanders however are of both sexes. Another company, however, has been formed for recruits being trained to check Palestinians at checkpoints, which undergoes Rifleman 03 (more advanced training). The company is called Course Company ( ''Plugat Maslul'' - ''Pa'''lm'''a'''s'''''). All military police recruits are trained in a base called Ba'''had''' 13 (''Bsis Hadrakha 13'', lit. Training Base 13), which is part of the larger Area 21 (a.k.a. Camp Mota Gur), near Netanya . Bahad 13 was originally established in Tzrifin , from where it moved to a location near Nablus and Kedumim in 1969, shortly after the Six-Day War. It was relocated to Camp Mota Gur in 1995. At the end of the training, recruits swear themselves in at the Western Wall in Jerusalem , which is considered extremely prestigious in the IDF. Those who finish basic training must take a "basic course" ( ''kurs yesod'') in order to be able to take up their respective positions, which usually takes place in Bahad 13 as well. Formerly, each recruit also took a 1-month course in law enforcement and received the rank of Private First Class (''turai rishon'') at the end, a rank which has been discontinued. Courses Bahad 13, the military police training base, offers a multitude of courses, basic or otherwise. Many of the courses are carried out in conjunction with other military schools and training bases, such as the school for military law. Basic courses
Other courses
Former courses
SECTORS The military police has a multitude of sectors (''migzarim''), which carry out the responsibilities highlighted above. Law enforcement The law enforcement (''Shitur'') sector is responsible for enforcing the discipline and proper image of soldiers, and road patrols to insure proper driving by the IDF soldiers. Road patrols may include the use of state of the art speed measurement equipment, or simply checking the driver's license and authorized use of military vehicles. Soldiers in this unit often wear a Combination Cap instead of the standard blue beret. There is a special law enforcement unit called ''HaMahlaka LeItur UMa'atzar'' (abbreviated to לאו"ם, ''Le'om''), meaning The Division for Identification and Arrest, which is responsible for catching deserters (generally, those AWOL for over 45 days). The unit is not officially separate and belongs to the regular law enforcement units, spread out across the various bases. The unit employs an intelligence system, while military detectives (''balashim'') operate in the field, by employing the gathered intelligence and posing as civilians in order to catch deserters.1 Another special unit is the Ya'''ml'''a'''t''' (''Yehida Meyuhedet LeFikuah Ta'avura'' - Special Unit for Traffic Supervision), founded in 1980, which is the main law enforcement unit. It has a company responsible for transferring prisoners between jails and detention centers. Prison service See also: Israeli Military Prison The prison service (''Kli'a'') sectors guards Israeli military prisons. It is divided into two: the service responsible for guarding prisons and detention centers with Israeli prisoners, and the service responsible for guarding the two detention centers containing Palestinian detainees, Shomron and Etzion. When the military police controlled the major detainment prisons, Megiddo, Ofer and Ktziyot, each of the two sub-sectors has a unique training course. As of 2007 however, all jailors undergo the jail instructors' course. The actual jailors, or jail instructors, are considered IDF commanders for all intents and purposes, although as of August 2007, are no longer distinguished by the green aiguilette worn by most commanders and instructors in the IDF. Instead, a new red and blue aiguillette was made for them, different in design than that of the law enforcement sector.
The prison service sector started out as the Prison Division (Hebrew: מחלקת בתי הסוהר, ''Mahleket Batei HaSohar'') until it became a separate sector in 1974. It was originally responsible for maintaining the provisional military prison in Tel Aviv, until Prison Four was built. Various services were introduced into the sector with time, such as education in 1977 and ''gahelet'' in the 2000s, as programs for rehabilitation. Additionally, the Prison Six revolt in 1997 revolutionized the IDF's approach to military prisons, and many new measures were introduced, in order to improve the conditions of prisoners and jailors alike, as well as make it harder for prisoners to escape and stage further revolts. When the military police was responsible for jails containing Palestinian detainees (until 2006), there were two additional subsectors:
Criminal investigation The Criminal Investigations Division (''Mishtara Tzva'it Hokeret'' or ''Me'''tz'''a'''h''''') is a unit in the IDF responsible for all criminal investigations inside the IDF. The unit primarily deals with the use of drugs in the army, and theft of and dealing in army weapons. Other investigations include corruption, sexual harassment and assault, suicides, killings and abuse of civilian Palestinan population, and treason. The unit also deals with traffic accidents involving military vehicles. The investigations division has a special secret unit called ''Ya'''ml'''a'''m''''' (''Yehida Merkazit LeHakirot Meyuhadot'', lit. Central Unit for Special Investigations), founded in 1983, which conducts high profile investigations. Some are done together with the Israel Police and the Shabak . The investigations division was originally made up of poorly trained soldiers who relied solely on military law, which was not always realistic and up to date. They operated mainly in Tel Aviv and dealt with theft and smuggling charges. The military police command saw the importance of the investigations division and decided that only high school or higher graduates (at that time, most soldiers had not finished 12 years of high school) should be taken into the division, and their training was conducted by the much more professional Israel Police . Slowly, the investigations division became a professional sector and is now considered the most prestigious sector in the military police. Security Examination Security examinators (''Me'avhenim Bithoni'im'' or ''Ma'a'''b''''', a.k.a. ''Ma'avarim'') is a sector founded in 2004, although the decision was its founding was laid down on January 13 , 2003 . Its soldiers check Palestinians at Israel Defense Forces Checkpoint s. It is currently expanding rapidly, with a new training base being built especially for it. It is considered a Combat Support unit with medium risk. It is considered a low-level unit within the corps, but is much more respected by other corps. The first security examination course at Bahad 13 took place in November 2003. The course lasts four weeks plus a week of basic Arabic lessons. The sector is divided into two battalions - Erez, which monitors most checkpoints around Jerusalem, and Ta'oz, manning all other military police-run checkpoints. The Erez battalion lists three companies; Pluga Alef, Pluga Bet and Pluga Gimel. The Ta'oz battalion lists five companies: Eyal (אייל), Gilbo'a (גלבוע), Maccabim (מכבים), Reihan (ריחן), Sahlav (סחלב) and Shomron (שומרון). The headquarters of ''ma'avarim'', which were built in April 2004, are located at Camp Mota Gur, next to Bahad 13. The ''ma'avarim'' shoulder insignia was unveiled in a ceremony in July 2004. The two hands on it symbolize the striving for co-existence between the two sides. The eye represents the constant watch for those who wish to harm this co-existence. SECTORS AND OPERATIONS DURING EMERGENCY During an emergency such as war, when there is a general reserve call-up, the Military Police Corps changes many of its designations and its structure. Although the reserve force in the corps is comparatively small (approximately 4,000-4,500 troops at any time), the reservists take up most of the emergency positions and many of the regular units are incorporated into the reservist force. While regularly, the corps serves under the Human Resources Directorate , during an emergency it moves to the Logistics, Medical, And The Centers Directorate . There are two types of military police units during an emergency: frontal and rear. The frontal units serve under five of the six regional logistical support units ( ''egged logisti merhavi''). Emergency operations of the corps mainly include directing traffic at major roads and intersections, law enforcement, erecting road signed in conquered territory, and the guarding and conveyance of POW s. Frontal units Each frontal military police unit is the size of a battalion, commanded by a lieutenant colonel. It is called Emergency Military Police Unit ( ''yehidat herum mishtara tzva'it''), and exists in four of the six logistical support units. It is completely absent in Regional Logistical Support Unit 5004 (belonging to the Central Command ), because there is no front in the IDF Central Command since the Peace Treary with Jordan . In Regional Logistical Support Unit 5003 (southern Golan Heights ), only the law enforcement and traffic directing company of the Emergency Military Police Unit is present. The Emergency Military Police Unit is divided into two companies: the law enforcement and traffic directing company, called Military Police Company ( ''plugat mishtara tzva'it''), and the POW conveyance and guarding company, called Frontal POW Company ( ''plugat shvu'im kidmit''). Military Police Company The Military Police Company is responsible for all the law enforcement and traffic directing missions, as well as erecting road signs, assisting troop movement, and operating Frontal Supervision Points, which allow combat troops to receive orders and directions in conquered territory. Ideally, each Military Police Company consists of 3 platoons, each consisting of 3 squads. A squad has a commander, an All-terrain Vehicle driver and two ATVs, and six military policemen. The company also has one medic and one mechanic. Frontal POW Company The Frontal POW Company is responsible for taking prisoners of war from the combat units, transferring them to temporary camps (each camp is erected by the company in four days and can contain up to 500 POWs), then sorting them and transferring them to permanent regional (command) POW camps within 72 hours. Each company lists 3 platoons: a conveyance platoon, an absorption platoon which sorts prisoners (this platoon also has medics, intelligence gatherers and translators for correct absorption and sorting), and a platoon responsible for the temporary POW camp. Rear units The rear unit of the Military Police Corps during wartime is called the Command Law Enforcement Unit. It is a brigade-level unit headed by a colonel. There is such a unit in the Northern, Central and Southern commands. In the Central Command, the unit is subordinate to the Regional Logistical Support Unit 5004. Each Command Law Enforcement Unit cosists of three battalions:
National POW Camp The National POW Camp is a unit which takes in all POWs from the Frontal POW Company who are either injured or are considered quality soldiers (officers, pilots, senior NCOs, etc.). The quality POWs are sent to the national camp in Prison Six . The 393rd Battalion is responsible for guarding them. The injured POWs are sent to one of four hospitals: Kaplan Hospital ( Rehovot ), Asaf HaRofe Hospital ( Rishon LeZion / Be'er Ya'akov ), Tel HaShomer Hospital ( Ramat Gan / Tel HaShomer ) or Barzilai Hospital ( Ashkelon ). INSIGNIA The Israeli Military Police wears a blue beret and its symbol is a flame. On the beret, the flame is surrounded with the a banner-like curve, which says ''Heil HaMishtara HaTzva'it'' (military police force). This curve is also present on most military police shoulder symbols. The military police pin image consists of blue bricks and the letters ''Mem'' and ''Tzadik'' (Mishtara '''Tz'''va'it, i.e. Military Police). The shoulder insignia varies based on the soldier's position, although it is always on a blue and red background (See ''Shoulder insignia'' below). The ceremonial dress of the Israeli Military Police is a regular uniform, with a white police hat, a brassard with the letters ''Mem'' and ''Tzadik'' on the left arm, and a white belt. This dress is also worn on duty, mostly by MPs preforming discipline patrols in public places (train and bus stations, entrances to large bases, etc.), or by MPs in jails. Most military policemen also wear a blue and red Aiguillette , which has two forms - vertical (for law enforcement, investigations, etc.) and horizontal lines (for the prison service sector). Some wear a green aiguillette (indicates a commander, also formerly used by the prison sector). The aiguillette is worn over the left shoulder, and attached to the left shirt pocket. Training Recruits in the military police, as all IDF recruits, wear shoulder tags to indicate their platoon. Until 2006, The male ''Pashatz'' company wore single-colored bands (orange, red, yellow, green, black or blue), while the females (''Plugat Shotrot'') wore dual-colored bands (e.g. red and white, blue and green). The male company's symbol was a Dragon , while that of the female company was a Lioness' head. As of February 2006, the ''Pashatz'' wears single-colored bands (both sexes), while ''Palmas'' (a checkpoint company) wears special yellow or green bands. During professional training (course), soldiers wear dual-colored bands, depending on the course. Shoulder insignia Most units or major bases in the military police have their own shoulder insignia:
EQUIPMENT Vehicles Patrol Cars
Prisoner conveyance
Former vehicles
BASES Each sector of the military police (i.e. law enforcement, investigations, etc.) has a number of bases throughout the country. The name of the base is followed by the larger base in which it is located (if any) in parentheses.
Training
Law enforcement General Staff
Northern command
Central command
Southern command
Yamlat
Investigations (Metzah) Northern Command
Central Command
Southern Command
Central Unit for Special Investigations
Prison service
Security examination Erez Battalion
Ta'oz Battalion
Former bases
LEADERSHIP The Israeli Military Police is headed by the ''Ka'''mtz'''a'''r''''' (''Ktzin Mishtara Tzva'it Rashi''), lit. Chief Military Police Officer. The Kamtzar and most of the other military police leadership operate in the ''Mekamtzar'' (Chief Military Police Officer Headquarters). The Chief Military Police Officer position was established in 1950 and a rank of colonel designated to it. The first official holder of the position was Yosef Pressman. In 1974, the rank of Brigadier General was designated to the position, and then Chief MP Officer Colonel Zalman Verdi was promoted to this rank. List of Chief Military Police Officers
FAMOUS MILITARY POLICEMEN Below is a list of famous Israelis who served in the Military Police Corps.
REFERENCES FURTHER READING
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