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$Unique_ID{bob00278}
$Pretitle{}
$Title{Israel
Chapter 5E.   Israel Police}
$Subtitle{}
$Author{Richard F. Nyrop}
$Affiliation{HQ, Department of the Army}
$Subject{police
israel
israeli
territories
guard
intelligence
security
occupied
court
military}
$Date{1979}
$Log{}
Title:       Israel
Book:        Israel, A Country Study
Author:      Richard F. Nyrop
Affiliation: HQ, Department of the Army
Date:        1979

Chapter 5E.   Israel Police

     Law enforcement is entrusted to a single national police force called
simply Israel Police, having a strength, at the end of 1976, of 16,821
personnel. The budget allocated to the police during FY1976 was nearly 800
Israeli Pounds million (for value of the Israeli pound-see Glossary),
excluding an additional 106 Israeli Pounds million allocation conditional on
further revenue collections. The strength of the Israel Police, both in terms
of manpower and budget allocations, increased significantly during the 1970s,
as did its responsibilities. Its assumption in 1974 of responsibility for the
maintenance of internal security and for the administration and logistical
support of the newly established civilian vigilante organization known as the
Civil Guard have been especially significant in the expansion of the role of
the Israel Police.

Organization

     The minister of interior is a civilian political appointee who acts as
the liaison between the Israel Police and the prime minister. The highest
ranking officer and operational commander of the Israel Police is given the
title of inspector general (see fig. 16). He is aided by an assistant
inspector general and commands from National Headquarters in Jerusalem.
National Headquarters comprises a staff divided into five units: operations;
administration; investigation; planning, research, and development; and
personnel.

     Operating forces are organized into five major subordinate commands,
including three police districts, the Civil Guard, and the Border Guard. The
Northern District, headquartered in Nazareth, contains three subdistricts; the
Tel Aviv District, headquartered in North Tel Aviv, also contains three
subdistricts; and the Southern District, headquartered in Jerusalem, has five
subdistricts and one autonomous unit. Police subdistricts are further divided
into stations and posts. Civil Guard Headquarters are located at National
Headquarters in Jerusalem. The organizational structure of the Civil Guard
corresponds territorially to that of the police. Civil Guard district and
subdistrict commanders are subordinate to the commanders of the respective
police units. Border Guard Headquarters are in Lod. Its military-type
organization consists of brigades divided into several companies each.

Functions

     In addition to regular police functions, such as crime prevention,
criminal investigation and apprehension, and traffic control, the Israel
Police are responsible for a variety of functions unknown to most police
establishments. The Marine Patrol unit of the police, for example, performs
duties similar to the United States Coast Guard. In 1976 they operated eleven
vessels in the Mediterranean Sea, Lake Tiberias, and the Gulf of Aqaba to
answer distress calls, patrol beaches, and watch for suspect ships. (After the
March 1978 terrorist landing on the Israeli coast, the IDF replaced the Israel
Police in patrolling the coastline.)

     Since 1967 the Israel Police has also been responsible for law
enforcement in the occupied territories. Under the general policy guideline to
minimize the Israeli presence in the territories, an effort was made to retain
local Arab personnel for this function. At the end of 1976, of 1,133 police
officers in the territories, 792 were local and 315 were Israel Police
officers. In addition, further Israel Police personnel provide administrative
and logistical services, and Border Guard units also perform routine policing
functions in the territories.

     The most significant new function of the Israel Police lies in its
responsibility for internal security. Formerly an obligation of the IDF, in
1974 the Israel Police was put in charge of the maintenance of internal
security during "peacetime," and in 1976 this responsibility was extended to
include times of active hostilities so that, in effect, the Israel Police is
in charge of defending the rear during a wartime emergency. Personnel from the
army and from the intelligence community continued to perform vital internal
security functions, but overall responsibility lay with the police.

     All units of the police are engaged in activities related to the
maintenance of internal security. Of special importance in this function,
however, are the Border Guard and the Civil Guard. In addition to guarding
Israel's borders with Lebanon and Jordan, the Border Guard keeps vigil at
Israeli settlements in the occupied territories and at all air and seaports
and provides regular police services in several cities within the territories.
The primary responsibility of the Civil Guard is to provide guard duty in
residential areas, though its volunteers also keep watch on part of Israel's
coastline, man roadblocks, supervise security arrangements in schools and
other public institutions, and assist police during mass public events.

Manpower

     The expanded role of the Israel Police has created the need for
additional manpower. Between 1973 and 1976 Israel Police increased in
personnel from just under 12,000 to nearly 17,000. Nevertheless police
officials argued in 1978 that the growth had been insufficient to meet new
responsibilities. The shortage of qualified recruits has been an increasingly
acute problem throughout the 1970s.

     Of the police personnel at the end of 1976, 13,377 were regular police,
the remainder being Border Guard assigned from the army, staff of the Civil
Guard, and local Arab police in the occupied territories. Regular personnel
included 2,101 policewomen and 1,551 persons from minority groups; 333 police
officers were university graduates.

     With the exception of the Border Guard, all manpower needs are met
through voluntary enlistment. A significant number of Border Guards are IDF
conscripts assigned to police duty. The Border Guard contains a relatively
high percentage of Druzes, who are said to be well suited to the rugged life
of patrolling the frontier (see The Arab Minorities, ch. 2). The Civil Guard
is staffed by some 900 permanent administrators and contained over 100,000
civilian volunteers who regularly perform guard duties throughout Israel and
the occupied territories.

Training

     The vast majority of police training is conducted at the National Police
School. Located at Shefaraam, the school was attended by some 2,000 students
in 1976. A wide variety of courses were offered on three levels: basic
training, command training, and professional training. Basic training lasted
for five months and included basic citizenship and military training as well
as specialized training in law, investigation, traffic control, and other
aspects of police operations. The six-month NCO course was divided into two
curricula: operations and investigation. Officer courses varied in length and
subject matter and included a variety of specialized training courses.

     About thirty higher ranking officers yearly attend the Senior Officers'
College, where they receive instruction in national policy, staff operations,
criminology, sociology, and subjects relating to internal security. Border
Guard personnel are trained separately from the regular police. Basic
instruction includes small arms training, scouting and patrol, and first aid.
Command and specialist courses are provided by the army; senior officers train
at the police facility.

     Police officers are also encouraged to continue their formal education
while on the job. Several hundred officers each year attend a variety of
classes, some conducted under the auspices of the police, offering secondary,
university, and postgraduate courses.

Morale and Public Attitude

     Morale among Israel Police officers has traditionally been high. A sense
of mission and professional competence outweighed the adverse effects of
relatively low pay and an ever-increasing burden of responsibilities. A wide
variety of cash incentives were offered, including a bonus for service inside
the occupied territories, a bonus for signing five-year service contracts, and
prizes for exceptional performance or for efficiency suggestions, in an effort
to offset low pay and to bolster morale.

     In late 1977 there was evidence that several factors were combining to
create a deterioration in police morale. One problem was a lack of financial
resources, a perennial complaint of police officials, which was compounded by
manpower and equipment needs created by the expanded role of the police and by
Israel's growing economic difficulties. Another factor was an increasing rate
of crime and an accompanying drop in the arrest rate (only 12 percent of
crimes against property in Tel Aviv in 1976, for example, were solved). Still
another disturbing factor affecting both police morale and the public attitude
toward the police was a growing awareness of the existence of organized crime
and of evidence that linked it with corrupt elements within the police
establishment. The arrest of several officers in August 1977 on charges of
having participated in large-scale thefts in Tel Aviv led to rumors that
bribery and corruption within the police and in conjunction with organized
crime were widespread. Although these allegations had not been substantiated
as of mid-1978, they had proven detrimental to police morale.

     During the 1970s the public image of the police was greatly improved from
that prevailing during the early years of Israel's independence, when police
were either a daily reminder of former British rule or a symbol of the
persecution and oppression from which many had fled. Thirty years after its
formation, the Israel Police was seen as an efficient and professional
organization that, in addition to regular police work, played an important
role in the defense of the nation. A study commissioned by the Israel Police
and published in 1973 found the public's image of the police to be favorable
and greatly improved since 1967. This study also found that higher
socioeconomic groups in Israel tended to be most critical of the police. In
early 1978 it was still too early to determine how adversely the recently
surfaced allegations of police corruption would affect public opinion.

Intelligence Community

     Israel's intelligence community is generally regarded as one of the most
professional and effective in the world. The services of the intelligence
community, along with those of the Israeli Air Force, have been revered in
Israel as the most important components of success in the Arab-Israeli
conflict. Nevertheless the parts of the 1974 Agranat Commission Report that
were published placed considerable blame on intelligence failures for the
surprise Arab offensive in 1973. The commission's report led to the dismissal
of the intelligence community's most important official, General Zvi Zamir,
and to the enactment of measures designed to improve the quality of field
intelligence and prevent the false sense of security created by pre-October
1973 intelligence reports.

     The intelligence community in 1978 consisted of four components, each
with its distinct mission. The Central Institute for Intelligence and Special
Missions (Mossad merkazi le-modiin uletafkidim meyuhadim-commonly known as
Mossad) had a mission analogous to the United States Central Intelligence
Agency (CIA), being responsible for intelligence gathering and operations in
foreign countries. Military Intelligence, commonly known as Aman, was assigned
particular responsibility for the vital function of intelligence within the
Arab world and along Israel's borders; the General Security Service (Sherut
Bitahon Kelali-commonly known as Shin Beth) was in charge of internal security
and, since 1967, intelligence in the occupied territories; and the
documentation unit of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was in charge of routine
foreign intelligence gathering.

     Very little was publicly known about these organizations, although
personal accounts by Israelis have revealed details of several well-known
missions of Mossad, including the kidnapping of Adolf Eichmann in Argentina in
1960 and the creation of a "hit team" to assassinate members of Black
September, an Arab guerrilla group responsible for the death of eleven Israeli
athletes at the XXth Olympic Games in 1972. Eli Cohen is perhaps Israel's most
famous spy, having infiltrated into the top echelons of the Syrian government
during the mid-1960s; he radioed information to Israel for two years before he
was uncovered and publically hanged in Damascus Square. Isser Harel, long-time
chief of all Israeli intelligence organizations and mastermind of the Eichmann
kidnapping, is another name revered in the history of Israeli intelligence.

Crime and Punishment

Incidence of Crime

     A report submitted to the cabinet in February 1978 by the
government-appointed Shimron Commission confirmed what Israelis had feared for
several years: that the incidence of crime in Israel was rapidly becoming a
major national problem. Among its many findings, the Shimron Commission
discovered that per capita crime had increased fivefold since 1948 and that
organized crime was widespread and had penetrated the government.

     Between 1970 and 1976 the number of criminal offenses reported to police
jumped over 40 percent, an increase that was nearly evenly distributed among
various categories of crime (see table 25, Appendix A). Israeli criminologists
have offered a variety of explanations for the rapid growth of criminal
activity, including an overextended police force, a rise in materialistic
values in the society, a growing alienation among poorer segments of
society-particularly Arabs and Sephardic Jews-and a rapid increase in the
number of difficult-to-enforce government laws and regulations.

     Data compiled by the government's Central Bureau of Statistics confirm at
least some of these explanations. With regard to the police, it would appear
that they are understaffed and burdened with growing responsibilities for
internal security as well as the detection and apprehension of common
criminals (see Israel Police, this ch.). The detection rate, that is, the
percentage of reported crimes that are solved, has dropped steadily, from 56
percent in 1960, to 47 in 1965, to 35 in 1970, and to 33 in 1974. Data on
those who are apprehended and brought to trial show that the rate for Arabs is
over 50-percent higher than that for Jews; and that among Jews, those who were
born in Africa have the highest rate, followed by those born in Israel, Asia,
Europe, and the United States. This stratification is true for juveniles as
well as adults. Among adults, statistics show that the younger the individual,
the more likely he or she is to be arrested for a crime. Recidivism has
gradually grown over the years; in 1974 nearly sixty of every 100 people
apprehended for a crime were previous offenders.

Criminal Justice System

     The Criminal Procedure Law of 1965 describes general provisions with
regard to application of law, pretrial and trial procedure, and appeal. It
supplements the Courts Law of 1957, which prescribes the composition,
jurisdiction, and functioning of the court system and provides details of
appellate remedies and procedures.

     Warrants are generally required for arrests and searches, although a
person may be arrested without a warrant if there is reason to suspect that he
has committed a felony or is a fugitive from justice or is apprehended in the
act of committing an offense. A person so arrested must be brought before a
judge within forty-eight hours; the judge may order his release, with or
without bail, or may authorize further detention for a period up to fifteen
days. Authorization for detention may be renewed for an additional fifteen-day
period, but any further extension requires the approval of the attorney
general. Preventive detention is legal during periods of emergency but is
rarely used.

     Unless detained for an offense punishable by death or life imprisonment,
a person who has been arrested may request release on bail, whether or not a
formal charge has been entered against him. Bail may consist of personal
recognizance, cash deposit, surety bond, or any combination thereof. A person
held in custody must be released unconditionally if no charges have been filed
against him within ninety days; he must also be released without condition if
trial has not commenced within sixty days or if it has not been concluded
within one year from the date on which a statement of charge was filed. Only a
judge of the Supreme Court may order an extension of these time limitations.

     Any person is entitled to communicate information on his arrest to a
friend or relative and to a lawyer as soon as possible. In felony cases,
arrests may be kept secret for reasons of national security upon written
request from the minister of defense or for the sake of investigation upon
written request from the inspector general of police. Requests are valid for
periods not exceeding forty-eight hours; they may be renewed so long as the
total does not exceed seven days.

     All secular courts in Israel deal with criminal as well as civil matters
(see The Judicial System, ch. 3). In 1976 about two-thirds of the nearly
400,000 criminal cases (including minor traffic offenses, which account for
about half of all criminal court cases) brought to Israeli courts were heard
in magistrates' courts, which were the courts of the first instance in most
matters. District courts, which try felonies in the first instance and appeals
from convictions for misdemeanors and contraventions, heard some 9,000
criminal cases and the Supreme Court heard some 1,300. Juvenile and municipal
courts, as well as work tribunals also heard criminal cases. The caseloads of
all courts were growing at a rate between 10 and 20 percent a year, and as a
result the backlog of criminal cases was growing and had reached 56,000 by the
end of 1976. In early 1978 Minister of Justice Shmuel Tamir proposed extending
court hours in an effort to diminish the mounting backlog.

     Offenses committed by civilians (from Israel or the occupied territories)
against the Defense (Emergency) Regulations of 1945 are tried by military
courts composed of three commissioned officers. Until 1963 their judgments
were final, but at that time the right of appeal was granted under an
amendment to the Military Justice Law. Individuals charged with offenses
against the Prevention of Infiltration Law are tried by a military court
consisting of a single officer; appeals are heard by a court composed of three
officers. All or part of the proceedings may be ordered to be held in camera;
all other Israeli courts are open.

     Except in most military tribunals and the Supreme Court, cases are tried
before a single judge; there are no juries in Israeli courts. Proceedings
begin with the filing of a statement of charge; the state acts as plaintiff,
and police officers or state attorneys designated by the attorney general
conduct the prosecution. Where an accused is not represented by counsel,
counsel is appointed by the court at state expense.

     The accused pleads to the facts alleged in the indictment, not guilt or
innocence with respect to the charge itself. In pleading, the defendant may
remain silent, or he may admit or deny any or all of the alleged facts; he may
also plead additional facts. During the hearing, a defendant may testify under
oath in his own behalf, in which case he is subject to cross-examination; he
may make a statement upon which he may not be examined; or he may remain
silent.

     Verdicts of the court must be in writing, together with reasons therefor.
If the defendant is convicted, the prosecutor may then present evidence
relating to punishment, including any record of previous convictions. The
defendant is also permitted to submit evidence in mitigation. After the
pronouncement of sentence, the court explains to the accused the appellate
remedies open to him.

     The time limit for appeals is forty-five days; appeal is automatic where
a death sentence has been imposed, regardless of action by the accused.
Grounds of appeal must be stated and, if insufficient, the court may order
that a more detailed statement be made. Appeals may be dismissed for lack of
grounds. New evidence is rarely taken by an appellate court; its decisions are
ordinarily based on evidence already presented to the lower court, although it
may reach different conclusions as to the facts or the law. Analysts generally
agree that court procedures in Israel are fair; the accused is considered
innocent until proven guilty, and guarantees of due process of law are
observed.

     Punishments for convicted criminals include suspended sentences, fines, a
choice of imprisonment or fine, imprisonment and fine, and imprisonment. The
death penalty may be imposed for treason or conviction for Nazi war crimes,
but as of mid-1978 Eichmann was the only person ever to be executed by Israeli
authorities. Prison sentences are mandatory only for exceptional crimes, such
as attacking a policeman. In fact, of over 61,000 criminals convicted during
1975 in courts other than military tribunals, only 2,700 were sentenced to
prison. Sentences in military tribunals are generally more harsh; terms of
imprisonment from fifteen years to life are not unusual.

Penal System

     The penal system is administered by the Prison Service, a branch of the
Ministry of Interior but independent of the Israel Police. It is headed by the
Prison Service Commissioner. The prison system consists of about a score of
prisons, most of which were built in the 1930s by British Mandate Authorities,
located throughout Israel. Detention centers outside the authority of the
Prison Service include police lockups, located in every major town, and
military detention centers in the occupied territories (common criminals in
the territories are detained by local police authorities).

     During the 1970s the penal system drew considerable criticism both at
home and abroad, as Israel's prisons became increasingly overcrowded due both
to a growing incidence of common crime and a rapidly increasing number of
security offenders, most of whom were Arabs from the occupied territories. For
example, in 1976 the prison population grew 15 percent, from 5,075 to 5,852,
while the number of security offenders grew by 18 percent, from 2,725 to
3,227. In 1977 Prison Service Commissioner Haim Levi stated that the average
living space per prisoner in Israel was 2.2 square meters, less than one-third
the average in many Western countries. Some prisons are worse; Ashqelon prison
had an average of 2 square meters. Prison authorities admit that there is no
room for beds in many cases, and prisoners are forced to sleep on floor mats.

     Other prison conditions, such as food quality and the availability of
medical care, are more favorable. Nevertheless prison conditions were the
principal cause of a growing number of strikes by highly politicized
prisoners, the most significant being a hunger strike that began in Ashqelon
in late 1976 and subsequently spread to many other prisons in Israel and the
occupied territories. Such incidents have aroused fears of large-scale prison
riots in the future that, along with criticisms voiced by the International
Committee for the Red Cross and the United States Department of State, have
led to plans to expand the capacity of the prisons. At least two new prisons,
at Beersheba and Atarot, were scheduled to open in the late 1970s.

     Prisoners are offered vocational training in a variety of trades,
including carpentry, bookbinding and printing, tailoring, and shoemaking.
Employment is also available at token wages in the production of such articles
as clothing and shoes for the prison service and other government agencies.
Two hours of each day are allotted for recreation, and most prisoners are
allowed two visitors per month. Short-term furloughs are granted for good
behavior, and a temporary parole is often allowed common criminals after
serving one-third of their sentence. After completing two-thirds of the
sentence, nonsecurity prisoners may receive a permanent parole for good
behavior. Many of the parole benefits are not available to security prisoners,
although Israel's president has the power to grant pardons and, on occasions,
amnesty is offered to groups of security prisoners.

                                  * * *

     New literature on Israeli national security is constantly being made
available; the reader interested in pursuing the subject further should
consult a recent bibliography. One of the best sources is the quarterly Middle
East Journal. Of the literature available in mid-1978, the best overall view
of the IDF from both a historical and current perspective is The Israeli Army
by Edward Luttwak and Dan Horowitz. Other useful surveys include History of
the Israeli Army, 1870-1974 by Zeev Schiff and Between Israel and Death by
Edward Bernard Glick. Two edited volumes that are useful for their
presentation of the views of Israeli citizens and soldiers toward questions of
war and peace are The Seventh Day: Soldiers Talk About the Six-Day War by
Avraham Shapira and Mission Survival, edited by Ruth Bondy, et. al.

     Two yearly publications that are particularly useful for current
information regarding the size of forces and military equipment are The
Military Balance and the SIPRI Yearbook. In "How Much Is Too Much?" Anthony
Cordesman forecasts Israel's defense requirements into the 1980s.

     Military doctine is discussed most usefully by Michael I. Handel in
Israel's Political-Military Doctrine, Yehoshafat Harkabi in Arab Strategies
and Israel's Response, and Fuad Jabber in Israel and Nuclear Weapons.

     Internal security aspects of the problem of Palestinian Arabs are
usefully detailed in "The Palestinians and the PLO, A Historical Approach" by
Bernard Lewis and Revolutionary Warfare in The Middle East: The Israelis vs.
the Fedayeen by Bard O'Neill. Politics and the IDF are discussed in a general
sense in Edward Glick's volume and in detail by Amos Perlmutter in his two
volumes, Military and Politics in Israel: Nation-Building and Role Expansion
and Politics and the Military in Israel, 1967-77.

     The occupied territories are the subject of a rapidly expanding volume of
literature, and here especially, a recent bibliography should be consulted. In
1978 Bernard Reich's "Israel and the Occupied Territories" was perhaps the
most balanced and well-researched study, retaining its relevance and accuracy
despite its being five years' old. The published hearings of the subcommittee
of the Senate Judiciary Committee on "The Colonization of the West Bank
Territories by Israel" contain a wide variety of information and reprinted
materials critical of Israeli policies there. "The Occupied Territories" by
Steven J. Rosen pursues a more balanced approach in the context of their
strategic importance. The State Department's annual "Country Reports on Human
Rights Practices" surveys Israeli policies in Israel and the territories from
the human rights standpoint. "Israel and Torture," a study conducted by a team
from the London Sunday Times, which is available as a reprint from The
Palestine Human Rights Campaign, provides the most devastating evidence of
Israeli violations of human rights in the territories, though its conclusions
were widely disputed after some of its authors discredited their sources.

     The legal aspects of Israeli settlements in the occupied territories are
discussed in "Israeli Settlements in the Occupied Territories" in The Review
of the International Commission of Jurists. Ann Mosely Lesch offers a variety
of information concerning the settlements in "Israeli Settlements in the
Occupied Territories, 1967-1977."

     Those interested in nonfiction accounts of activities of the Israeli
intelligence community may read David Tinnin's Hit Team, Isser Harel's House
on Garabaldi Street, and Eli Ben-Hanan's Our Man in Damascus: The Story of Eli
Cohen. (For further information see Bibliography.)