page_title: Israel Border Police
section_title: Yamas
hierarchical_section_title: Israel Border Police / Structure / Special Operations Units / Yamas
caption_attribution_description: English: Israeli Border Police YAMAS training עברית: אימון של הימ"ס, משמר הגבול
context_page_description: The Israel Border Police is the gendarmerie and border security branch of the Israel National Police. It is also commonly known by its Hebrew abbreviation Magav, meaning border guard; its members are colloquially known as Magavnikim. Border Guard is often used as the official name of the Israel Border Police in English. While its main task is securing Israel's borders, it has also been deployed in assisting the Israel Defense Forces, and for counter-terrorism and law enforcement operations in the West Bank, as well as in Jerusalem.
  The Israeli Border Police is renowned for including many soldiers from minority backgrounds, being a particularly popular choice with Druze recruits, but also includes many soldiers from Circassian, Arab Christian and Bedouin background.
context_section_description: The Yamas are the counter-terror undercover unit.
  The Yamas are often expected to carry out complex missions with little or no preparation, often involving daylight raids in volatile areas. They do not follow regular military or police command structure and answer directly to the Shabak. Their existence has until recently been denied by the IDF.
caption: YAMAS in training
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