Background Following the 1993
Oslo Accords which lead to the establishment of the
Palestinian Authority, a
Palestinian Civil Police Force assumed responsibility for policing in the Gaza Strip. In 2007, the
Hamas militant group
took over the Gaza Strip and assumed control over its
police force.
Hamas and several other Palestinian militant groups carried out a series of
coordinated armed attacks in
southern Israel on 7 October 2023 leading to the start of the
Gaza War. Israel and Hamas accepted a
Gaza peace plan in October 2025 which was endorsed by the
United Nations through the adoption of
United Nations Security Council Resolution 2803 on 17 November 2025. UNSC Resolution 2803 empowers an international transitional body known as the
Board of Peace, with the support of a
International Stabilization Force, to "train and provide support to the vetted Palestinian police forces" in the Gaza Strip.
Development On 18 November 2025, the
European Union offered to train 3,000 Gaza police officers through the
EUPOL COPPS mission which presently operates in the
West Bank.
France,
Germany and
Slovenia have expressed willingness to contribute to the mission. Hamas has sought to incorporate personnel from the existing
Gaza police force into the new civil police. Recruitment for the new police force was started by the
National Committee for the Administration of Gaza on 19 February 2026.
Egypt and
Jordan have agreed to help train new police officers. The NCAG hopes to deploy up to 5000 police officers in the Gaza Strip over the next 60 days. ==See also==