Israeli private security companies (Midjerney - Al Jazeera)
Security was an obsession for the leaders of the Zionist movement even before the establishment of the State of Israel. They rushed to establish the Hashmira Company in 1937 to be the first private security company in the world.
The countries of the world did not become aware of such a matter until after the end of World War II in 1945, after which this type of services spread around the world and reached its peak in the 1990s, and then expanded significantly with the emergence of many conflicts and wars around the world.
The policy of relying on private security companies achieves great gains for countries - according to a study published by the Beirut-based Zaytouna Center for Studies - including reducing expenditures on defense ministries and reducing human losses in the armed forces by relying on recruiting mercenaries from various regions of the world.
In addition, avoiding diplomatic embarrassment and international law debates resulting from military interventions by hiding behind private security companies, in addition to attracting domestic support by appearing peaceful and not engaging directly, to any extent, in international armed conflicts.
Promoting the Israeli security model
The urgent need for security in the occupying state constituted a strong lever for the spread of private security companies, whose responsibilities expanded to the point where they began to carry out security tasks instead of the Israeli army and police.
For example, in 1999, the private Israeli company Mir Security presented its largest project to the government, under the title “Creating a Safe City Model,” and installed about a thousand monitoring and surveillance cameras in the Old City of occupied Jerusalem, making the model an international icon.
At every opportunity, Israel seeks to promote its security model through the conferences it holds periodically. These companies not only constitute a military, information, and intelligence support for Israel, but they also constitute one of the tributaries of the Israeli economy.
It exports security software worth more than $5 billion annually.
According to a report entitled “Private Security Companies and the Israeli Occupation,” published by the “Who Profits Research Center,” the number of private security companies run by official and semi-official Israeli bodies exceeded 300 companies inside and outside Israel, distributed in about 70 countries.
In a previous report, the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs estimated the value of the revenues of private security companies worldwide at about 400 billion dollars, noting that the average income of these international security companies, most of which Israel contributes to, rose from about 55 billion dollars in 1990 to 202 billion in 2010. .
Security companies help the army secure its military checkpoints (Associated Press)
Tasks and roles
The role played by private security companies can be summarized as follows:
Carrying out combat operations.
Protecting military bases and managing prisons.
Providing military logistics.
Management of military bases and contracts.
Military training and reform of security structures.
Collecting and analyzing military information, crisis management, and providing consultations.
Providing armed and unarmed protection services and reconnaissance operations.
Controlling demonstrations and riots.
Collect and analyze security information.
Implementing anti-terrorism operations.
Implementing anti-piracy operations.
Implementing anti-kidnapping and hostage operations.
Conducting investigations with suspects.
Managing electronic warfare.
The war on Gaza
In light of the disputes and crises that struck the occupation army during its ongoing aggression against the Gaza Strip, the role of these security companies became prominent in this war, and they became a support warehouse for the army at various levels,
and the most important of these tasks are:
Recruitment
As the Israeli war on the Gaza Strip continued, Israeli security companies worked to recruit mercenaries from around the world to fight alongside the Israeli army.
The French newspaper El Mundo revealed, in a report, that Israel has recruited mercenaries from various countries around the world through contracts with private military companies to participate in the fighting in Gaza.
This strategy includes the use of these mercenaries who specialize in hit-and-run operations and guerrilla warfare on the ground, while the Israeli occupation soldiers resort to their tanks, and the goal is to reduce human losses during the battle.
According to a report by the official Israeli radio "Kan", tens of thousands of Russian immigrants were recruited to participate in the war on Gaza.
The Israeli newspaper "Globus" also reported that the mercenaries who fought in Ukraine against the Russian army "packed their belongings and moved to fight alongside the Israeli army in Gaza."
Carrying out special operations
According to a report published by the Who Wins Research Center, these companies carry out tasks related to training, weapons transfer, information gathering, kidnapping, and torture.
Israeli newspapers have previously reported that a large part of the successes attributed to the Israeli foreign intelligence service (Mossad) in the last two decades, including assassinations, bombings, etc., were in cooperation with these companies.
Facilities insurance
The El Mundo newspaper report continued that the Israeli Ministry of Defense is entrusting private military companies with the tasks of securing power stations, airports, and border crossings, such as those between Eilat and Aqaba.
She said that all of these companies are headed or owned by military generals closely linked to the Israeli army - according to the newspaper - which said, "Things are not going as usual for these companies after Israel is in the midst of an unprecedented war."
Consulting and logistical services
These companies intervene and provide advice in the reorganization and restructuring processes of the army forces operating on the ground.
It also carries out logistical tasks related to providing the necessary services on the battlefield. On the sidelines of the United States starting to establish a naval pier off the coast of Gaza, the American network “NBC” reported that Israel is considering contracting with international security companies, whose role begins the moment the aid reaches the Gaza Strip. It works to secure it from the transportation stage to the distribution points, and even the distribution process itself.
Missions in the West Bank
According to a report issued by Privacy International - a watchdog group concerned with government surveillance - dozens of security companies provide their services to the Israeli government, and they constitute the highest ratio of surveillance companies to the population in the world.
During the war on Gaza, private security companies carry out the tasks of securing and protecting individuals, supervising the security of crossings, settlements and sensitive facilities, providing intelligence information, controlling and monitoring prisons, and others.
It also supervises checkpoints in the occupied Palestinian territories, and electronic monitoring devices provided by the apartheid wall. The Israeli government has begun privatizing security checkpoints since 2005.
Private security companies supervise checkpoints in the occupied Palestinian territories
The most prominent of these companies
Shilag Lavan:
It is a manpower company owned by Eliyahu and Hagit Orgad of I-Orgad Holdings. It provides security services, and the company has signed contracts with the Israeli Ministry of Defense to operate border crossings.
The company currently provides guards and inspectors to a number of checkpoints in the West Bank, including the Tarqumiya and Mitar checkpoints in Hebron Governorate, and the Eliyahu crossing south of Qalqilya.
Modi'in Ezrahi:
It is a private security and manpower company owned by Yekhil Dahan, through Margalin Holdings, and Mordechai Dahan, through Ravid AR Holdings.
The company employs qualified former combat soldiers to carry a weapon as security guards.
It has branches in the Ariel settlement and East Jerusalem settlements and provides security services to various Israeli ministries, bodies and figures.
This company is responsible for guarding Yair Netanyahu, the son of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and is professionally subject to the Internal Security Service (Shin Bet), and subject to the “Magin” unit responsible for guarding in the Prime Minister’s Office.
G4S Israel Branch:
The company provides security services at Israeli checkpoints. It also provided the government with closed-circuit television radar systems for the Israeli “Safe City” project, which was implemented in dozens of West Bank settlements, and provided equipment for Israeli police headquarters located near those settlements.
This company supervises the security of a number of Israeli prisons with defense systems on the walls and control and surveillance systems in the prisoners’ rooms. The company provides detention and investigation centers in the city of Jerusalem with security systems.
The company employs more than 8,000 security personnel, is considered one of the largest security companies in Israel, and will be the operating contractor for the new training center for the Israeli police.
There was talk in the media about the possibility of the parent company selling its Israeli branch due to pressure from the boycott movement against Israel.
T&M Security and Protection Company:
It consists of several companies: “Saar Security”, “Kfir Security”, “Goshen Security” and “Be Protect”, which is a company specializing in advanced technological systems and producing surveillance cameras.
The company signed a contract with the Ministry of Homeland Security to provide security services in the Old City complex in East Jerusalem, as well as for the Jerusalem Light Rail project.
It requires candidates applying to work for it to be a former soldier from combat units in the Israeli army.
Moked Matara Company:
It is a security company that has an employment license to work in the West Bank as a supplier to the Israeli Ministry of Defense. It is responsible for securing sensitive sites in the West Bank areas and conducting security escort convoys with armored vehicles.
It provides routine security and protection services to the Oranit settlement, and also provides security services to numerous educational institutions throughout Israel and the West Bank.
Avidar Security Company
It is a private security company that supplies, installs, and provides maintenance for various surveillance and security devices.
The company is owned by Eliyahu Avidar.
Avidar provides security services to employees of the Israeli Ministry of Social Services while performing their work along the Green Line and in West Bank settlements.
It provides security services in particular to settlements in the Gush Etzion area, which includes 19 settlements, and also provides security services to the Maale Adumim and Ariel settlements.
Pen Security Company:
It is a private security company that supplies, installs, and provides maintenance for various surveillance and security devices.
It is owned by Ronit Finkelstein.
The company provides guard and security services to the local council in the Alfei Menashe settlement, and armed guard services to educational institutions in the Gilo and Har Homa settlements on the outskirts of East Jerusalem.
It also provides security services in various facilities of the Jordan Valley Settlements Regional Council.
Reshef Security Company:
It is a private security company that operates 8 branches in Israel, one of which is in the Golan. The company owns and operates 6 weapons depots.
The company provides electronic protection systems for military bases belonging to the Israeli army, which have not been identified, in a project under cooperation between Israel and the US Department of Defense.
Dr. Walid Abdel-Hay says in his study on private security companies published by the Zaytouna Center for Studies that private security companies, especially those that are organically linked to “Israel”, found an opportunity in this region to exploit these conditions to their advantage, especially since it is a region in which there are countries with a sufficient degree of capacity. Finance to pay these companies, taking advantage of internal disputes to begin recruiting and transporting elements and weapons, thus deepening the general unrest.
Source: Al Jazeera + websites