Last modified: 2024-09-07 by ian macdonald
Keywords: police | triangle: hoist (red) | eagle of saladin | unidentified flag | palestine | text: arabic (black) |
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![[Police (Palestine)]](../images/p/ps_polic.gif)
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image by Eugene Ipavec, M. Schmöger and Santiago Dotor, 24 June 2007Omar Amastan Mouffok from Algeria wrote to me describing the flag used by the Palestinian police, which he has seen several times on TV, as being the Palestinian flag with the arms on the red triangle. I sent him the above draft and asked him to report any differences. He believes that the red triangle should be shorter (i.e. like in the standard Palestinian flag) and that the arms do not show the crossed sabres under the eagle.
Santiago Dotor, 26 December 2001
It's interesting that it would seem that the police, chairman, and state flags are basicaly the same with only the symbol moved around the field to differientiate them.
Marc Pasquin, 15 November 2004
![[Civil Police]](../images/p/ps_pol.gif)
image
by Zoltan Horvath, 25 August 2024
based on photo located by William Garrison, 26 December 2023
The blue field of the flag of the "Palestinian Civil Police
Force" al-Shurtah al-Madaniyah
al-Filistiniyah) which is the Civil Police organization tasked with traditional
law-enforcement duties in the autonomous territory governed by the "Palestinian
National Authority" (PNA/PA). The "Civil Police" is a part of the "Palestinian
Security Services" ; as seen in Fatah-controlled Ramallah, c. Dec. 2023.
Source:
https://www.facebook.com/photo
William Garrison, 26 December 2023
The Civil Police is the 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.
Since the Hamas takeover of the Gaza Strip the control of the Civil Police in
Gaza was placed under the jurisdiction of Hamas.
Zoltan Horvath, 25
August 2024
Logo
![[Civil Police]](../images/p/ps_cpol).jpg)
image located by William Garrison, 26 December 2023
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palestinian_Civil_Police_Force
An earlier flag?
On 3 July 2003, the Público newspaper featured a medium-sized article about the control,
by the Palestinian security forces of the city of Bethlehem. It was illustrated by a photo of a group of
security officers parading behind a Palestinian flag with something written in the white stripe [scan],
as in other images seen previously. But, unlike the flags in those images, this one features the writing in two rows.
Someone with knowledge of Arabic may be able to read it and produce a proper ID of this flag, althout
I suspect it to be the flag of the security forces or, at least, of some brigade.
Jorge Candeias, 01 June 2005
The inscription is mirrored and not so easy to read. It seems that the bottom line say "al-quwat al-merkaziya" (The Central Force") and the last word in the upper stripe is "Madaniya" (Civil).
If I am correct is could be the flag of the "al-Shurta al-Madaniyya (Civil Police) - al-quwat al-merkaziya" even though the upper line seems longer.
Dov Gutterman, 01 June 2005
BBC World showed yesterday some sort of parade by Palestinian policemen carrying Palestinian flags plus other flags which were greyish (not white, as compared with the white stripe in the nearby Palestinian flags), with a large displayed eagle (or hawk) in black, with two cartouches above and below of the same kind as in the Syrian coat-of-arms (see the 1972-1980 flag), the whole surrounded by a black circle. Any idea what this
flag is? Maybe a Colour of the Palestinian Police?
Santiago Dotor, 22 March 2000
![[Unidentified Possible Police or Security Flag (Palestine)]](../images/p/ps_eagle.gif)
image by Eugene Ipavec, 24 June 2007Detail of a Yahoo photo, captioned:
"Palestinian Hamas militant places a Hamas force flag on top of headquarters of security forces loyal to President Mahmoud Abbas after they seized it in Gaza June 13, 2007."
At first this struck me as a likely error; the flag is white with the pan-Arab, Nasserist Eagle of Saladin in a black disc – clearly a symbol more appropriate to the nationalist PLO rather than the clericalist Hamas. However today on the news I saw a captain of the Hamas militants being interviewed, and he was wearing a yellow vest with the same badge.
Perhaps the photo was mislabeled, and the vest had been looted. Or maybe Hamas uses the Eagle of Saladin now too – but either way, this is an UFE. The upper line of writing might be legible; the text in the image is a placeholder.
Eugene Ipavec, 24 June 2007
I think that it is a police or other security force flag and the photo shows it being removed and not hoisted since those units are Hamas' bitter enemies.
Dov Gutterman, 24 June 2007
A picture was taken by Reutrers photo journalist Mohammed Salem. The image (source)
was reproduced in the following websites: Image #2 and Image #3 (source).
The larger picture shows that the bottom stripe bearing the Arabic inscription
is not separate from the black disc as shown above but rather attached, in
yellow outline. It was labeled back then (as the picture caption reads) as
follows: "A Palestinian Hamas militant places a Hamas force flag on top of
headquarters of security forces loyal to President Mahmoud Abbas after they
seized it in Gaza June 13, 2007."
I'm more likely to believe the flag was mistakenly labeled as a Hamas flag due to the occupation forces of Hamas of Fatah outposts back in the 2007 Gaza invasion as part of the Fatah-Hamas conflict. However, this flag could be that of the "Executive Force", a parallel security force made up of al-Qassam Brigades members, after Fatah, refusing to accept the plan of the Hamas-led PA government to reform the security sector after the Palestinian legislative election of 2006, established its own security force, the Presidential Guard, although the main Fatah force that fought in this conflict was the Palestinian National Security Forces.
The picture in question was most likely taken after "[Hamas] Fighters seized Fatah's Preventative Security building in Gaza City and the intelligence service headquarters" (source) - notice
that Preventive Security was labelled as a Fatah-controlled Unit during the Fatah-Hamas conflict but it is
an agency of the Palestinian Authority, as a whole.
As for Palestinian Security Forces, they were outlined by the Oslo Agreement signed in 1993, and were officially established in May 1994 "with the signing of the Gaza–Jericho Agreement, "a chapter in the Oslo Accords process" (source). Also the Oslo II Accords contains Article II of Annex I which stipulates:
"The Palestinian Police is the only Palestinian security authority." The Annex allows a security force limited to six branches:
Image from Esteban Rivera, 18 April 2016
PPS logo cropped image from Ramallah News.
image located by William Garrison, 17 October 2023
The white-field flag of the "Palestinian National Authority" (PA) "Al-Shurta"
("The Police"), as noted in Arabic at the bottom of their light-blue logo:
"Al-Shurta"; c. 2005. The top Arabic slogan reads roughly: "The Country is
Safe." There is a flag-pole sleeve at the left side (hoist).
William
Garrison, 17 October 2023
image by Zoltan Horvath, 25 August 2024
The Palestinian Naval Police, also known as the Gaza Marine (Gazan Navy), is
a branch of the Palestinian National Security Forces whose task includes
securing the coastline of the Gaza Strip. The Naval Police was established in
the Gaza–Jericho Agreement signed on 4 May 1994. Its activities are restricted
to 6 nautical miles from the coast.
Flag of the Naval Police is white
with its emblem placed in the middle of the flag.
Image of flag:
https://qph.cf2.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-d06e27a2800534921a4901bcf075a4f0-lq
Zoltan Horvath, 25 August 2024
image located by William Garrison, 17 October 2023
Logo
.gif)
image located by William Garrison, 17 October 2023
Logo source:
https://musawa.ps/post/memo-to-the-cec-on-arrests-of-supporters-of-electoral-lists.html
The white-field flag of the "Preventive Security" agency of the "Palestinian
National Authority" (PA); c. 2005. The "Preventive Security" (PS) is an internal
intelligence agency that was established to counter opposition to the PLO's
peace agreements with Israel, especially Hamas. The PS operates under the PA's
"Ministry of Interior", but also appears to report directly to the PA president.
It has grown to become one of the most powerful security forces. There is a
flag-pole sleeve at the right side (hoist). PS info see:
https://musawa.ps/post/memo-to-the-cec-on-arrests-of-supporters-of-electoral-lists.html.
William
Garrison, 17 October 2023
![[Police / Security-Forces' Flag Sash (Palestine)]](../images/p/ps^sash.gif)
A November 10, 2007 BBC News article contains a
photo of a Palestinian-flag sash, worn diagonally by two officers during the ceremonial unveiling of Yasser Arafat's mausoleum in Ramallah.
Esteban Rivera and Eugene Ipavec, 10 November 2007
Palestine doesn't have an Air Force – the Palestinian National Authority received, as a loan, two Mil Mi-8's from Egypt for use as VIP transports. Both used Egyptian civil registration, with the Palestinian flag on the fuselage. Those helicopters are now back in Egypt and not in use for this purpose anymore.
Dov Gutterman, 21 June 2004
