EU considers training 3,000 Palestinian police officers from Gaza

By Lili Bayer

BRUSSELS (Reuters) -European Union foreign ministers will discuss next week a proposal for the bloc to take the lead in training 3,000 Palestinian police officers with the aim of later deploying them in Gaza, according to a document seen by Reuters on Friday.

In a paper produced by the bloc’s diplomatic arm ahead of the gathering of ministers on November 20, officials outlined options for contributing to the implementation of a 20-point plan for Gaza proposed by U.S. President Donald Trump.

Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas agreed in October to the first phase of the blueprint, but the implementation of further parts of the deal remains highly uncertain.

In the document, the European External Action Service outlined proposals to expand the bloc’s two civilian missions in the region, which focus on border assistance and supporting the Palestinian Authority’s (PA) policing and justice reforms.

The EU’s police support mission could “take leadership in training the Palestinian police force in Gaza by providing direct training and support to approx. 3,000 Palestinian police officers (on the PA pay-roll) from Gaza, with a view to training the full 13,000 Palestinian police force,” it said.

The paper also raises the idea of expanding the EU’s civilian border monitoring mission in Rafah to other border crossing points.

But prospects for the EU moving ahead with these initiatives are unclear.

Russia on Thursday proposed its own draft of a U.N. resolution on Gaza in a challenge to a U.S. effort to pass its own text that would endorse President Trump's plan.

(Reporting by Lili Bayer and John Irish, editing by Bart Meijer and Sharon Singleton)