Ministry of Interior (Palestine)

The Ministry of Interior (Arabic: وزارة الداخلية wuzārat ad-dākhiliyah) is an executive department of the Palestinian government, responsible for overseeing law enforcement and public administration in the country.

Structure
The Minister of Interior appoints and oversees several directors, each of whom are responsible for leading the administration of a particular agency under internal executive jurisdiction of the civilian government. These agencies range in their responsibilities from law enforcement such as policing or corrections to censuses and statistics. There are also several purely administrative bodies under the Minister of Interior's jurisdiction which do not have legal coercive powers, but which oversee important functions of the state such as maintenance of public services and crisis response.

Agencies

 * General Administration Directorate: Responsible for public administration agencies like vital statistics and census, and overseeing municipal governments.
 * General Security Directorate: Responsible for operating the emergency services hotline and dispatch centre and overseeing public security operations.
 * Preventive Security Directorate: The main counterterrorism agency of the ministry.
 * Palestine National Police: Responsible for regular law enforcement in all areas under civilian Palestinian government jurisdiction.
 * Corrections Directorate: Oversees the national correctional system, including prisons, labour camps, and rehabilitation facilities.
 * "M" (Narcotics) Directorate: Enforces national scheduled substances policy by combatting trafficking and related organised crime.
 * "J" (Customs) Directorate: Responsible for border security and enforcement of national customs and immigration policy, operating all points of entry into the country.
 * Economic Security Directorate: Maintains security of state enterprises and thwarts economic espionage and sabotage.
 * Transportation Security Directorate: Maintains safety and security of state transportation systems and institutions.
 * Main Directorate of Emergency Management: Handles national emergency preparedness and subsidises the operations of the Palestine National Fire Rescue Society, Palestine Red Crescent Society and Palestinian Coast Guard, which are functionally separate from the government. Subordinate agencies responsible for crisis management include:
 * Disaster Relief Agency: Responds to casualties of disasters like earthquakes or man-made incidents like terrorist attacks.
 * Environmental Crisis Response Agency: Handles immediate and long-term response to major environmental disasters like oil spills.

Administrative bodies

 * Main Administration Office: The administrative arm and secretariat of the ministry itself; mostly responsible for coordinating activities between directorates and advising the Minister of Interior.
 * Internal Review and Disciplinary Committee: Investigates allegations of professional misconduct among law enforcement personnel and recommends disciplinary action.
 * National Firearms Regulatory Committee: Responsible for administering national firearms policy and regulations including training and licensing.
 * Immigration Administration Committee: Responsible for overseeing the national immigration and naturalisation system, from visa and permanent residency applications to citizenship testing.
 * Refuge and Asylum Committee: Administers fast-tracking of refugee applications through the standard immigration process.
 * Interior Budget Department: Oversees the Ministry of Interior budget and operational finances.
 * Human Resources Department: Recruits and trains administrative and security personnel, and provides compensation and support to active and former employees.
 * Technical Support Office: Provides IT support and related assistance to the ministry's directorates.
 * Internal Archives Office: Responsible for archiving all non-public Ministry of Interior data.
 * Interior Press Department: Represents the Ministry of Interior to the public via press conferences and official publications.
 * Interior Legal Department: Represents the ministry in the judicial system.