​The university was founded in 1998 on Palestinian land under the name “The Palestinian Academy for Security Sciences". His Excellency, President Mahmoud Abbas, opened it in 2007. It was turned into a university in 2011. It is the first and unique governmental Palestinian university that deals with security, military and police education serving as a vital branch for providing the Palestinian military institutions with qualified officers through seven bachelor programs, the number of majors is increasing. The university aims to qualify young people joining the university (male and female) through eight specialized vocational diplomas in military, security and police sciences. All majors are distributed on the four colleges The university vision is focused on security sciences to meet the country's need for academic and professional security staff. It looks for the best among the Arab universities and academies in serving the Palestinian community as well as excellence and significance in the field of security at the local, regional and international level. MISSION OF THE UNIVERSITY Al-Istiqlal University works on providing high quality of higher education in specializations related to security sciences. And the University's mission is based on a comprehensive vision of the qualitative development of available human resources, and employing them in different domains. The goal of Al-Istiqlal University is to prepare professionally and scientifically qualified officers and future leaders armed with the spirit of belonging, commitment, teamwork, and national and cultural values. It seeks to contribute effectively in conducting researches, academic and applied studies in the field of security through comprehensive concepts of development which targets Palestinian society in general and security institutions in particular.​