Israel has agreed to extend the mandates of two EU missions in the Palestinian territories until the end of June 2027, the Israeli Foreign Ministry announced today, quoted by DPA, BTA reported.
One mission assists and monitors movement of people across the Rafah border crossing between the Gaza Strip and Egypt, and the other trains Palestinian police officers. The European Commission also confirmed that Israel had notified it of the extension of the two mandates.
The police mission is to train thousands of Palestinian security forces. The mission will also help rebuild the judicial structures in the Gaza Strip, as well as train Palestinian police instructors at a police academy in the West Bank.
The police in the Gaza Strip have until now operated under the control of "Hamas". The new Palestinian police force, which the EU is helping to build, is due to become operational as part of the US-backed peace plan.
The other mission monitors operations at the Rafah border crossing and has been supporting Palestinian border guards since it reopened earlier this year. The mission was set up in 2005 to help control the only border crossing between the Gaza Strip and Egypt. After "Hamas" took power in the Gaza Strip in 2007, the crossing was long without EU staff, as the bloc refused to work with the group.