EU considers training 3 Palestinian police for Gaza

The European Union is considering expanding its civilian mission and training 3,000 Palestinian officers in Gaza, as part of a 20-point plan proposed by President Trump, while the prospects for implementation remain unclear.

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 to Gaza, according to a document seen by Reuters on Friday.

In a material prepared by the bloc's diplomatic service ahead of a ministerial meeting on November 20, officials outline options for contributing to the implementation of a 20-point plan for Gaza proposed by US President Donald Trump.

Israel and Hamas agreed in October on the first phase of the plan, but implementation of other parts remains highly uncertain.

In the document, the European External Action Service presents proposals for expanding the bloc's two civilian missions in the region, which focus on border assistance and support for policing and justice reforms by the Palestinian Authority.

The EU Police Support Mission could “take the lead in training the Palestinian police force in Gaza by providing training and direct support to approximately 3,000 Palestinian police officers (on the PA payroll) from Gaza, with the aim of training the entire Palestinian police force of 13.000,” it said.

It is not clear whether the EU will move forward with this plan.

The document also raises the idea of ​​expanding the EU civilian border monitoring mission in Rafah to other border crossing points.

But the prospects for the EU to continue with these initiatives remain unclear.

Russia proposed its own draft of a UN resolution on Gaza on Thursday, challenging a US effort to pass its own text that would support President Trump's plan.