The European Union Plans to Train 3,000 Police Officers for Gaza Strip

SadaNews - The European Union intends to train up to 3,000 police officers in the Gaza Strip, similar to what it previously did in the occupied West Bank, according to a European official on Wednesday.

The official, who requested anonymity, indicated that there would be a "need to reinforce stability in Gaza with a large police force," as reported by the "Agence France-Presse."

The UN Security Council had adopted, on Monday, a resolution supporting US President Donald Trump's plan, which resulted in a ceasefire in Gaza on October 10, after two years of war between Israel and the "Hamas" movement in the besieged enclave.

Following the exchange of Israeli detainees and Palestinian prisoners, the plan calls for deploying an international force in the territory, tasked primarily with securing the borders with Israel and Egypt, disarming Gaza, and stripping "non-governmental armed groups" of their weapons.

There will later be a need to ensure security in Gaza sustainably. The European Union, seeking to regain a central role in the region, intends to propose training police personnel who are not affiliated with "Hamas," which controls the area.

According to the official, about 7,000 police officers in Gaza still receive their salaries from the Palestinian Authority in the occupied West Bank, although a large number of them have been retired or are unable to work, but 3,000 of them can be trained.

He pointed out that the training will take place outside the Gaza Strip.

Since 2006, the European Union has been funding a mission to train police in the West Bank, with a budget of nearly 13 million euros (around 15 million dollars).

The EU foreign ministers will discuss this proposal on Thursday during their meeting in Brussels. Also, on the same day, Brussels will host a conference for donor countries to Palestine, with the participation of around 60 delegations, including Arab countries, but without the participation of Israel.

The conference aims to provide an opportunity for the Palestinian Authority, which is under international pressure to implement reforms, to express its position.

The European Union is the largest financial supporter of the Palestinian Authority, but it ties the continuation of its support to the implementation of reforms it deems necessary for empowering the Authority to fully play its role within the framework of the two-state solution.

The conference will also be an opportunity to "evaluate" the progress made in these reforms, according to the European official.