The Future of the Palestinian Police in the Time of Hamas-Fatah Reconciliation
(BRUSSELS2) The Fatah-Hamas reconciliation is undeniably upsetting the situation in the Middle East, in particular for the European missions deployed on the ground, EUPOL Copps, for the training of the Palestinian police, and EUBAM Rafah, for the borders.
Henriq Malmquist, the head of the EUPOL Copps mission was in Brussels today to provide an update on his mission, accompanied by two senior Palestinian law enforcement officials, General Y. Ozreil and Chief Prosecutor S. Jarrar . Naturally, the journalists' questions focused more on political news than on the day-to-day work of the mission.
The head of the European mission, Henriq Malmquist wanted to be cautious: “The European Union supports the idea of Palestinian reconciliation. But, concretely, for me, we must know how this reconciliation will happen on the ground before discussing what consequences it will have in practice. and for our mission »
One police, one justice, one state
The Palestinian officials around him were not bothered by such considerations, pleading in favor of greater European involvement in the ongoing process in Palestine. For General Youssef Ozreil, " Our objective, it is the reconciliation of Gaza and the West Bank. When we talk about police, we mean the whole police. And we need more support, European support, for this reconciliation to go well ". Concretely since 2006, and the takeover by Hamas in Gaza, everyone is well aware that the two Palestinian parties have become somewhat detached. And on the ground, everything remains to be fixed, in particular to fix how the reintegration of the police officers who remained in Gaza will take place, and according to what criteria. " We will discuss the details now said Ozreil. " We want a democratic, very professional, experienced police that can ensure the safety of the population of an independent Palestinian state whose capital will be Jerusalem. And to add, " the main challenge we have is the Israeli occupation. How to coordinate? How to conduct surveys? It is very difficult in all districts. »
Difficulties that no justice in the world has to face
Comment approved by his compatriot, the chief prosecutor Salem Jarrar: “ We have to deal with difficulties that no court system in the world has to deal with. If Israelis commit a crime in the territory of Ramallah, we cannot intervene. It's very difficult. » But he too pleads for a reorganization of Palestinian justice in a single body: “ All the crimes committed, in the two entities, will be judged by Palestinian judges. Gaza (staff) will be incorporated. They are ready to play their part »
(Nicolas Gros-Verheyde)
