From the Liveblog of
Monday, September 28, 2026
EU extends mandate of its Rafah Crossing and West Bank police training missions
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleLazar Berman is The Times of Israel's diplomatic reporter
The European Council renews the mandates of the EU Border Assistance Mission for the Rafah Crossing Point (EUBAM Rafah) and of the EU Police Mission in the Palestinian Territories (EUPOL COPPS).
The mandate will run until June 30, 2027.
The current three-month mandate extension is slated to expire on Wednesday.
In its decision, the Council reaffirms the European Union’s “commitment to international law and a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in the region based on the two-state solution, reiterating its readiness to contribute to work on the implementation of the comprehensive Gaza peace plan.”
In August, Israel decided to extend on its side the mandates of both the Rafah monitoring mission and an EU program that provides training for Palestinian police forces and advice on rebuilding Gaza’s judicial system.
Initially set up in 2005 to help monitor the key crossing, the civilian EUBAM mission was put on standby for nearly two decades after the terror group Hamas took control of Gaza in 2007.
The Rafah crossing shut down entirely during Israel’s war with Hamas, but amid the current ceasefire, it has reopened on a limited basis since February, with monitors from the EU.
EUPOL COPPS, launched in 2006, is the EU’s police support mission in the West Bank.
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