Palestinian Civil Police Force (Hamas)

This article is about the police service controlled by Hamas in parts of the Gaza Strip. For the police service controlled by the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank, see Palestinian Civil Police Force.

Palestinian Civil Police Force
Agency overview
Formed	2007
Jurisdictional structure
Operations jurisdiction	Parts of the Gaza Strip under Hamas control
Governing body	Interior Minister of the Gaza Strip
General nature	Local civilian police
Operational structure
Agency executives	Major General Mahmoud Salah, Chief of Police

Since the takeover of the Gaza Strip by the Hamas militant group in 2007, the Palestinian Civil Police, also known as the Palestinian Police, in the territory has been under the control of a de facto Hamas-led administration rather than the de jure Palestinian Authority based in the West Bank. ^{[1] [2]}

History

Establishment of a Palestinian Civil Police Force

Following the 1993 Oslo Accords which lead to the establishment of the Palestinian Authority, a Palestinian Civil Police Force assumed responsibility for policing in the Gaza Strip. ^[3] In 2007, the Hamas militant group took over the Gaza Strip and assumed control over its police force. ^{[4] [5]}

Hamas takeover of the Gaza Strip

Hamas won a majority of seats in the 2006 Palestinian legislative election and Ismail Haniyeh was appointed prime minister of the Palestinian Authority. A conflict between forces loyal to Hamas and forces loyal to Palestinian Authority president Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah movement resulted in Hamas gaining control of the Gaza Strip in June 2007. ^{[6] [7]}

2023 Gaza War

Hamas and several other Palestinian militant groups carried out a series of coordinated armed attacks in southern Israel on 7 October 2023 leading to the start of the Gaza War.

During the Gaza war Hamas members assigned in the civilian police force in the Gaza Strip were systemically targeted and killed by the Israeli military. ^[8] The attacks impacted the ability for humanitarian aid to be delivered, as well as the rise of other armed gangs which would frequently raid humanitarian aid trucks in absence of Hamas forces. ^[9]

Israel and Hamas accepted a Gaza peace plan in October 2025 which was endorsed by the United Nations through the adoption of United Nations Security Council Resolution 2803 on 17 November 2025. Under the plan around half of the Gaza Strip remains under Hamas control and the other half under Israeli control. Resolution 2803 allows an international peacekeeping force to be deployed in the Gaza Strip and a new civil police force to be raised. ^[10]

Structure

Arrow Unit

The Arrow Unit is the plain-clothed division of the Hamas controlled Palestinian Civil Police in Gaza.

Gallery

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  Gaza police forces on a march in 2011

References

1. "Civil Police – PA/Hamas". ECFR. 21 March 2018.
2. Berger, Miriam; Pietsch, Bryan (23 March 2024). "What to know about Gaza's police force, which Israel is targeting". Washington Post.
3. Main Points of the Israeli-Palestinian Interim Agreement on the West Bank and the Gaza Strip Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs
4. "Civil Police – PA/Hamas". ECFR. 21 March 2018.
5. Berger, Miriam; Pietsch, Bryan (23 March 2024). "What to know about Gaza's police force, which Israel is targeting". Washington Post.
6. "Civil Police – PA/Hamas". ECFR. 21 March 2018.
7. Berger, Miriam; Pietsch, Bryan (23 March 2024). "What to know about Gaza's police force, which Israel is targeting". Washington Post.
8. "Israeli strikes in Gaza kill five Palestinian police officers". Middle East Eye . Retrieved 10 September 2024.
9. Morris, Loveday. "Gaza aid delivery hampered by Israeli attacks on police, rising chaos". The Washington Post . Retrieved 10 September 2024.
10. https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/full-text-us-resolution-gaza-approved-un-security-council