Force 17

Force 17 ( Force 17) is an armed elite troops and bodyguard unit of the Palestinian Authority, which reports directly to the President. Originally, it was an organization Fatah.

The Force 17 was created in the early 1970s on the initiative of Fatah functionary Ali Hassan Salameh (Abu Hassan ). The most important task was the personal protection of the PLO's Yasser Arafat speaker, his deputy and other top officials of the PLO. 1974 escorted Force 17 members Arafat during his performance at the UN General Assembly in New York. Could not prevent the Force 17 the murder of its founder Salameh, who along with several bodyguards a stop in Beirut in 1979 fell victim to.

With the formation of the Palestinian Authority in 1993, the Force 17 was converted to a quasi-government security force.