EU to discuss leading training of 3,000 Palestinian police officers for Gaza

European Union foreign ministers will next week examine a proposal for the bloc to lead the training of 3,000 Palestinian police officers who could later be deployed in Gaza, according to an internal document seen by Reuters.

The paper, prepared by the European External Action Service (EEAS) ahead of the ministers’ meeting on 20 November, outlines options for how the EU could support the implementation of a 20-point plan for Gaza put forward by US President Donald Trump.

Israel and Hamas agreed in October to the first phase of the US blueprint, but the prospects for carrying out the remaining elements of the plan remain highly uncertain.

The EEAS document details potential expansions to the EU’s two existing civilian missions in the region — one focused on border assistance and another on policing and justice-sector reforms within the Palestinian Authority (PA).

According to the proposal, the EU’s police support mission could “take leadership in training the Palestinian police force in Gaza by providing direct training and support to approximately 3,000 Palestinian police officers (on the PA payroll) from Gaza, with a view to training the full 13,000-strong Palestinian police force.”

The paper also suggests the bloc could extend its civilian border-monitoring mission in Rafah to include other crossing points.

However, officials cautioned that it remains uncertain whether the EU will be able to move ahead with these plans, given political sensitivities and the rapidly changing situation on the ground.

The discussions come as Russia on Thursday submitted its own draft UN resolution on Gaza, challenging a separate US effort to win Security Council backing for Trump’s plan.