Israel Border Police

Israel Border Police מִשְׁמַר הַגְּבוּל Mišmar Ha-Gvul
Emblem of Magav
Flag of Israel Border Police
Common name	Magav
Agency overview
Formed	1953
Preceding agency	Frontier Corps
Employees	≈8,000 soldiers and officers
Jurisdictional structure
National agency	Israel
Operations jurisdiction	Israel
Governing body	Israel Police
General nature	Gendarmerie Local civilian police
Specialist jurisdiction	National border patrol, security, integrity
Website
www.police.gov.il

The Israel Border Police (Hebrew: מִשְׁמַר הַגְּבוּל, romanized: Mišmar Ha-Gvul, lit. 'Guard of the Border') is the gendarmerie and border security branch of the Israel Police. It is not part of the military, despite carrying out duties which go beyond regular policing and being staffed through the regular national military recruitment system. It is also commonly known by its Hebrew abbreviation Magav. While its main task is securing Israel's borders, it has also been deployed to assist the IDF, and for counter-terrorism and law enforcement operations in the Israeli-occupied West Bank and in Jerusalem.

The Israeli Border Police is known to include many soldiers from minority backgrounds, being a particularly popular choice for Druze recruits, and also including many soldiers from Circassian, Arab Christian, and Bedouin backgrounds.