Jericho, June 17, 2015 - The European Union Border Assistance Mission for the Rafah Crossing Point (EUBAM-Rafah) and Palestinian counterparts held a closing ceremony to mark the end of a lengthy training programme on the preparedness of the PA to resume its control of the Rafah Crossing point. Guy Rolin, the Acting Head of EUBAM-Rafah praised the dedication of the participants and thanked all parties who have contributed to the success of the programme. He said the new Head of Mission, due to assume responsibilities in July, will continue the second part of the programme. EUBAM-Rafah, with the support of EUPOL COPPS and 4 Experts from Italy, Germany and Hungary, has engineered a training programme to Palestinian counterparts to maintain their preparedness for a possible redeployment to Rafah Crossing Point. Dozens of Palestinian counterparts have benefited from the eight-month programme, that started in October 2014.
Nazmi Muhanna, head of the Palestinian General Administration of Borders and Crossings (GABC), thanked all parties for their continued support to keep enhancing the capabilities of the Palestinian counterparts. EUBAM Rafah has been working with the Palestinian Authority since it was launched in late 2005 to monitor the operations at the Rafah Crossing Point, between the Gaza Strip and Egypt. It suspended its operations when Hamas took over Gaza Strip in 2007.
