El-Saeqa

El-Saeqa (Arabic: الصاعقة aṣ-ṣā‘iqah; lit. "shock troops") is a Palestinian paramilitary corps which functions as the official armed wing of the Palestinian Regional Branch of the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party, which has ruled the country since 1971. It is technically independent of the Palestinian government and directly subordinate to the Military Bureau of the Palestinian Regional Branch, but functions as a major component of the Palestinian National Guard, which also includes the Popular Mobilisation Corps, a state-sponsored umbrella organisation of multiple community militias. El-Saeqa's membership in the National Guard is not contradicted by its partisan loyalty, as the ruling Palestinian Regional Branch's Regional Secretary, the highest functionary in the party, and the President of Palestine who is ex officio commander-in-chief of the Palestinian Armed Forces and National Guard, are one and the same.