Egypt trains hundreds of Palestinians for future Gaza police force
Israel’s Netanyahu seeks pardon in years-long corruption trial
GAZA CITY/ TEL AVIV: Egypt is training hundreds of Palestinian police officers with an eye towards integrating them into a post-war security force in Gaza, a Palestinian official said.
Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty announced the plan to train 5,000 officers for Gaza during talks with Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa in August.
A first group of more than 500 officers were trained in Cairo in March and since September the two-month courses have resumed to welcome hundreds more people, the Palestinian official said.
He said all members of the force will be from the Gaza Strip and paid by the Palestinian Authority, which is based in Ramallah in the occupied West Bank.
“I’m very happy with the training. We want a permanent end to war and aggression, and we’re eager to serve our country and fellow citizens,” said a 26-year-old Palestinian police officer.
He hoped the security force would be “independent, loyal only to Palestine and not subject to external alliances or objectives”.
“We received outstanding operational training, with modern equipment for border surveillance,” said a Palestinian lieutenant who also requested anonymity for security reasons.
The lieutenant, who left Gaza with his family last year, said the training focused on the fallout of the October 2023 Hamas attack on Israel that triggered the war and the damage done to the Palestinian cause.
Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu asked the president on Sunday for a pardon in his long-running corruption trial, arguing that criminal proceedings were hindering his ability to govern and a pardon would be good for Israel.
Netanyahu, the country’s longest-serving prime minister, denies the bribery, fraud, and breach of trust charges. His lawyers said in a letter to the president’s office that the prime minister still believes the legal proceedings would result in a complete acquittal.
Opposition leader Yair Lapid said Netanyahu should not be pardoned without admitting guilt, expressing remorse, and immediately retiring from political life.
Pardons in Israel have typically been granted only after legal proceedings have concluded and the accused has been convicted. Netanyahu’s lawyers argued that the president can intervene when public interest is at stake, as in this case, with a view to healing divisions and strengthening national unity. Monitoring Desk
