Boost for Palestine police mission ahead of elections

By Andrew Beatty

Date: 20/10/05

The EU is to expand its police mission in the Palestinian territories ahead of legislative elections expected in January next year.

The six-month-old mission could see its ranks double to around 20 police officers, along with more support staff, according to EU Middle East envoy Marc Otte.

"We have reached a stage where the basic strategy is in place," Otte said, "now we want to help the individual units to reform."

There are currently seven EU staff training the Palestinian police and co-ordinating the efforts of member states, based in the West Bank town of Ramallah and Gaza City.

Otte's comments come after a spate of attacks which prompted the Israeli government to cool ties with the Palestinian Authority earlier this week.

Since this summer's withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza the Israeli government has placed a renewed emphasis on the Palestinians' ability to control events within their own borders.

Observers also see strengthening the rule of law as vital for maintaining President Mahmoud Abbas's fragile grip on power in the territories.

EU member states have yet to agree on funding and specifics for the mission but a decision is expected in time for a beefed-up mission to begin work on 1 January 2006.

Meanwhile discussions continue on a possible EU role in monitoring Gaza's borders, with a mission likely to focus on the Rafah crossing on Gaza's southern border with Egypt.

The Palestinian authorities have balked at demands that the Israeli government have some oversight over the crossing, which Israel fears could become a security risk with arms and contraband being smuggled into Gaza.

The Israeli government has threatened to break a customs agreement with the Palestinian Authority if border arrangements prove unacceptable.

Such a move could have a potentially disastrous impact on the already faltering Gazan economy.

In order to break the deadlock the EU has said it may be willing to help monitor the crossing, but with talks delicately poised the Union remains cautious.

"We will be waiting for a request, we are not rushing to ask to do something," said Otte.

"Concrete proposals have to come from both sides, the Palestinians and the Israelis have to agree what they want because at Rafah there will be no Israelis, there will be Palestinians and on the other side there will be Egyptians, so we need to co-ordinate."

He said that some progress was being made, despite concerns among member states that such a mission would present significant political and security risks.

Checkpoints and border crossings have frequently been the target of terrorist groups during the second intifada which began in 2000.

"The special envoy for the quartet, James Wolfensohn, is looking on that concretely, I told the special envoy that whenever he feels that he has something concrete to present I will be first to be there to listen to him," Otte added.

Article reports that the EU was planning to expand its police mission in the Palestinian territories ahead of legislative elections expected in January 2006. The six-month-old mission could see its ranks double to around 20 police officers, along with more support staff, according to EU Middle East envoy Marc Otte.