Egypt has begun training 5,000 Palestinian police officers in coordination with Jordan, as part of an effort to address the security vacuum in the Gaza Strip, Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty said on Wednesday.
In a televised interview, Abdelatty said the officers would be deployed under the leadership of the Palestinian prime minister, who is scheduled to attend the international conference for the reconstruction of Gaza once a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas is reached.
According to Abdelatty, the conference will include workshops on policing, development, and reconstruction. He added that the Palestinian Authority will manage the Gaza Strip through a special committee, in order to achieve territorial unity between the two parts of the Palestinian state.
Diplomatic sources familiar with the Cairo-Doha mediation recently told Al Manassa that Egyptian and Qatari mediators have drafted a new proposal for a comprehensive agreement to end the war on Gaza, now in its 22nd month.
This comes against the backdrop of Israel’s declared intention to fully occupy the territory.
A factional source, speaking to Al Manassa on condition of anonymity, said the revised proposal comprises several key points, including calls for the simultaneous release of all Israeli captives, the formation of an Arab-Palestinian committee to manage Gaza’s affairs instead of Hamas. The committee would govern until a fully staffed Palestinian administration and security apparatus is ready to take over.
One of the more contentious elements involves a proposal to “freeze” Hamas’ military capacity, rather than dismantling it outright.
Hamas has previously rejected any discussion of disarmament, instead reiterating its demand for an independent Palestinian state as a prerequisite for negotiations on weapons.
Israel resumed its military campaign on March 18 after walking away from a ceasefire agreement announced in January. The deal was expected to last until the end of its offensive on Gaza, which began on October 7.
Since the resumption of the aggression, Palestinians in Gaza have been enduring widespread hunger due to Israeli-imposed siege on all aid. While some died from malnutrition, hundreds have been killed while attempting to collect supplies at US-Israeli designated distribution sites, which are frequently targeted by Israeli fire or airstrikes.
Abdelatty further reiterated Egypt’s position that Israeli security cannot be achieved without recognizing Palestinian rights, foremost among them the establishment of a sovereign Palestinian state.
