European Union Border Assistance Mission to Rafah

Last updated March 16, 2024

The European Union Border Assistance Mission at the Rafah Crossing Point (EU BAM Rafah) is the EU's second Civilian Crisis Management Mission in the Palestinian territories, the other being the European Union Police Mission (EUPOL COPPS).

The Mission was launched on 24 November 2005 to monitor operations at the Rafah Border Crossing between the Gaza Strip and Egypt, in accordance with the Agreed Principles for Rafah Crossing of 15 November 2005, part of the Agreement on Movement and Access (AMA), concluded by Israel and the Palestinian Authority. When the Mission was first deployed, it consisted of roughly 70 personnel including a special security team.

On 13 June 2007, following Hamas's takeover of the Gaza Strip, the EUBAM Head of Mission declared a temporary suspension of operations at the Crossing because the Palestinian Authority could not provide security for the EU monitors. During the 19 months while the EU monitors were present at the terminal (i.e., from the end of November 2005 until June 2007), a total of nearly 450,000 persons used the crossing, with an average of about 1,500 people a day. Since 2007, the European Union has had a policy of no contact with Hamas.^[1]

In 2015, EUBAM Rafah started implementing the ‘Palestinian Authority Preparedness Project’, aimed at enhancing the Palestinian Authority’s General Administration for Borders and Crossings (GABC) to operate according to international standards and to maintaining its readiness to redeploy to the Rafah Crossing Point, once the situation allows.

Political background

The Rafah Border Crossing is vitally important to the Gaza economy and the viability of any future independent Palestinian state, since it is the Gaza Strip's only border crossing with a country other than Israel. Furthermore, after the withdrawal of Israel Defense Forces (IDF) from the Gaza Strip and the subsequent closure of the Rafah Crossing Point (RCP), trade relations with neighboring Egypt were inhibited. Given Israeli security-related concerns about handing over control of the RCP to the Palestinian Authority (possible weapons transfers and uninhibited return of exiled extremist leaders and terrorists), EU BAM Rafah's stated aim is to provide a third party presence in the RCP in order to, in cooperation with the European Commission's institution building efforts, contribute to the opening of the Rafah Crossing Point and to build up confidence between the Government of Israel and the Palestinian Authority.

Furthermore, the broader political objective is to support the Road Map peace initiative through confidence-building and increasing Palestinian capacity in all aspects of border control. Effective border management will facilitate the movement of goods and persons in and out of the Gaza Strip, thus improving the living conditions of the Palestinians and enhancing the prospects of viability of a Palestinian State, while contributing to the security of Israel.

Organisation

The EU BAM is a civilian and unarmed Mission, composed mainly of Police, Border Police and Customs officers. It was originally intended to have the Mission in the Gaza Strip in a special-built compound at Rafah Crossing Point (RCP), with the Mission Headquarters in Gaza City. However, due to security, the headquarters is currently based in Tel Aviv, Israel, being previously located in Ashkelon. The Mission also has a field office in Gaza city.^[1]

The number of personnel has been considerably reduced. Despite the suspension of operations at the RCP in June 2007, EU BAM has maintained its capacity to redeploy to the RCP. The Mission retains its expertise in Border Management and Customs Operations and is regularly approached to share its expertise with other stakeholders involved in the issue of Border and Crossing. The mission is also liaising with the parties on a regular basis and on the operational level.

Tasks

Tasks of the EU BAM Rafah are:

actively monitor, verify and evaluate the PA's performance with regard to the implementation of the Framework, Security and Customs Agreements concluded between the parties on the operation of the Rafah terminal;
contribute, through mentoring, to building up the Palestinian capacity in all aspects of border management at Rafah.
contribute to the liaison between the Palestinian, Israeli and Egyptian authorities in all aspects regarding the management of the Rafah Crossing Point.

The EU considers maintaining the acquis of the AMA and the EU's third party role as important and stands ready to redeploy to the crossing point should the political and security conditions allow. The RCP was opened by Egypt on 28 May 2011 and has been operating outside the scope of the AMA ever since.

History

Until 2007, EU BAM Rafah monitors would use the Kerem Shalom border crossing to get to the Rafah Border Crossing.^[2] The EUBAM headed a Liaison Office at Kerem Shalom which received real-time video and data feeds of activities at the Rafah crossing. The live feed would also be received by Israeli monitors. The Liaison Office met regularly to review implementation of the Agreed Principles for Rafah Crossing, to resolve any dispute pertaining to the agreement, and to perform other tasks specified therein. The Liaison Office was staffed by officers from EUBAM, the Palestinian Authority, and the IsraelI government.

On 13 June 2007, following the Hamas take over in the Gaza Strip, the EU BAM Head of Mission declared a temporary suspension of operations at the Rafah Crossing Point (RCP).

In October 2014, EU BAM Rafah launched its PA Preparedness Project aimed at enhancing the PA capabilities for a quick redeployment to the RCP and PA's potential for future operating the RCP.

On 1 July 2015, Natalina Cea was appointed Head of EU BAM Rafah by the EU Political and Security Committee.^[3] As of 2015, the Mission was only partially staffed. The EU Council has expressed the EU's readiness to reactivate the EU BAM Rafah Mission, once political and security conditions allow.^[1]^[4] As of 2015, neither of the Parties of the 2005 Agreement (the Palestinian Authority and Israel) has formally requested the EU to reactivate and redeploy EU BAM Rafah.

Related Research Articles

The Gaza Strip, or simply Gaza, is a polity and the smaller of the two Palestinian territories. On the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea, Gaza is bordered by Egypt on the southwest and Israel on the east and north.

The Gaza–Israel barrier is a border barrier located on the Israeli side of the Gaza–Israel border. The Erez Crossing, in the north of the Gaza Strip, is the only crossing point for people and goods coming from Israel into the Gaza Strip; there exists a second crossing point in the barrier, called the Kerem Shalom border crossing, which is exclusive for the crossing of goods coming from Egypt, as Israel does not allow goods to go directly from Egypt into Gaza through the Egypt–Gaza border.

The Popular Resistance Committees is a coalition of a number of armed Palestinian groups opposed to what they regard as the conciliatory approach of the Palestinian Authority and Fatah towards Israel.

Rafah is a Palestinian city in the southern Gaza Strip; it is the capital of the Rafah Governorate of the State of Palestine, located 30 kilometers (19 mi) south-west of Gaza City. In 2017, Rafah had a population of 171,889. As a result of massive bombardment and ground assaults in Gaza City and Khan Yunis by Israel during the Israel–Hamas war, about 1.4 million people are believed to be sheltering in Rafah as of February 2024.

The Gaza Strip smuggling tunnels are smuggling tunnels that had been dug under the Philadelphi Route along the Egypt–Gaza border. They were dug to subvert the blockade of the Gaza Strip to smuggle in fuel, food, weapons and other goods into the Gaza Strip. After the Egypt–Israel peace treaty of 1979, the town of Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, was split by this buffer zone. One part is located in the southern part of Gaza, and the smaller part of the town is in Egypt. After Israel withdrew from Gaza in 2005, the Philadelphi Corridor was placed under the control of the Palestine Authority until 2007, when Hamas seized power in 2007, and Egypt and Israel closed borders with the Gaza Strip.

The Philadelphi Corridor, also called Philadelphi Route or Saladin Axis, is the Israeli code name for a narrow strip of land, 14 km in length, situated along the entirety of the border between Gaza Strip and Egypt.

This article describes transport in the State of Palestine, which consists of two non-contiguous territories, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, different parts of which are administered by Palestinian National Authority, Hamas Administration in Gaza and Israel.

The Fatah–Hamas conflict is an ongoing political and strategic conflict between Fatah and Hamas, the two main Palestinian political parties in the Palestinian territories, leading to the Hamas takeover of the Gaza Strip in June 2007. The reconciliation process and unification of Hamas and Fatah administrations remains unfinalized and the situation is deemed a frozen conflict.

The Rafah Border Crossing or Rafah Crossing Point is the sole crossing point between Egypt and Palestine's Gaza Strip. It is located on the Egypt–Palestine border. Under a 2007 agreement between Egypt and Israel, Egypt controls the crossing but imports through the Rafah crossing require Israeli approval.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Erez Crossing</span> Border crossing on the northern end of the Gaza Strip

The Erez Crossing, also known as the Beit Hanoun Crossing, is a border crossing between the Gaza Strip and Israel. It is located at the northern end of the Gaza Strip, between the Israeli kibbutz of Erez and the Palestinian town of Beit Hanoun.

On 23 January 2008, Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip set off an explosion near the Rafah border crossing, destroying part of the 2003 wall. The United Nations estimates that as many as half the 1.5 million population of the Gaza Strip crossed the border into Egypt seeking food and supplies. Due to fears that militants would acquire weapons in Egypt, Israeli police went on increased alert.

A blockade has been imposed on the movement of goods and people in and out of the Gaza Strip following Hamas's takeover in 2007, led by Israel and supported by Egypt. The blockade's current stated aim is to prevent the smuggling of weapons into Gaza, although previously stated motivations have included exerting economic pressure on Hamas. Human rights groups have described the blockade as illegal and a form of collective punishment as it restricts the flow of essential goods, contributes to economic hardship, and limits the freedom of movement for Gaza's residents. The blockade and its effects have led to the territory being described as an "open-air prison".

The Egypt–Gaza barrier is a steel border barrier constructed by Egypt along its 14 km border with the Gaza Strip. The Rafah border crossing is the only border crossing between the Gaza Strip and Egypt.

The 2006 Gaza cross-border raid was an armed incursion carried out by seven or eight Gazan Palestinian militants on 25 June 2006 who attacked Israel Defense Forces (IDF) positions near the Kerem Shalom Crossing through an attack tunnel. In the attack, two IDF soldiers and two Palestinian militants were killed, four IDF soldiers were wounded, one of whom was Gilad Shalit, who was captured and taken to the Gaza Strip.

Kerem Shalom border crossing is a border crossing at the junction of two border sections: one between the Gaza Strip and Israel, and one between the Gaza Strip and Egypt. It is used by trucks carrying goods from Israel or Egypt to the Gaza Strip.

The August 2012 Sinai attack occurred on 5 August 2012, when armed men ambushed an Egyptian military base in the Sinai Peninsula, killing 16 soldiers and stealing two armored cars, which they used to infiltrate into Israel. The attackers broke through the Kerem Shalom border crossing to Israel, where one of the vehicles exploded. They then engaged in a firefight with soldiers of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), during which six of the attackers were killed. No Israelis were injured.

The governance of the Gaza Strip since the Hamas takeover of the Gaza Strip in June 2007 has been carried out by Hamas. The Hamas government in Gaza was led by Ismail Haniyeh from 2007 until February 2017, when Haniyeh was replaced as leader of Hamas in the Gaza Strip by Yahya Sinwar. As of November 2023, Yahya Sinwar continues to be the leader of Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Due to the ongoing Israel–Hamas war, Hamas lost control of most of the northern part of the Gaza Strip.

The Egypt–Palestine border, also called Egypt–Gaza border, is the 12-kilometre (7.5 mi) long border between Egypt and the Gaza Strip. There is a buffer zone along the border which is about 14 kilometres (8.7 mi) long.

The Agreement on Movement and Access (AMA) was an agreement between Israel and the Palestinian Authority (PA) signed on 15 November 2005 aimed at improving Palestinian freedom of movement and economic activity within the Palestinian territories, and open the Rafah Crossing on the Gaza–Egypt border. AMA was described as: ″an agreement on facilitating the movement of people and goods within the Palestinian Territories and on opening an international crossing on the Gaza-Egypt border that will put the Palestinians in control of the entry and exit of people.″ Part of the agreement was the Agreed Principles for Rafah Crossing.

Palestine produces no oil or natural gas and is predominantly dependent on the Israel Electric Corporation (IEC) for electricity. According to UNCTAD, the Palestinian Territory "lies above sizeable reservoirs of oil and natural gas wealth" but "occupation continues to prevent Palestinians from developing their energy fields so as to exploit and benefit from such assets." In 2012, electricity available in West Bank and Gaza was 5,370 GW-hour, while the annual per capita consumption of electricity was 950 kWh. National sources only produce 445 GWh of electricity, supplying less than 10% of demand. The only domestic source of energy is the disputed Gaza Marine gas field, which has not yet been developed. Palestinian energy demand increased rapidly, increasing by 6.4% annually between 1999 and 2005. Future consumption of electricity is expected to reach 8,400 GWh by 2020 on the expectation that consumption will increase by 6% annually.

References

1 2 3 FAQs Archived 2015-11-18 at the Wayback Machine . EU BAM Rafah. Accessed September 2015
↑ Khalid Amayreh (23 June 2006). "Hamas threatens to end Rafah deal". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 6 August 2012.
↑ POLITICAL AND SECURITY COMMITTEE DECISION extending the mandate of the Head of Mission of the European Union Border Assistance Mission for the Rafah Crossing Point (EU BAM Rafah) (EU BAM Rafah/1/2016)
↑ Council Conclusions on the Middle East Peace Process, point 4. Council of the European Union, 20 July 2015

External links

EU BAM Rafah official website
EU BAM Rafah Archived 2016-03-03 at the Wayback Machine at the Council of the European Union website
The EU & the Middle East Peace Process at the European Commission website
Factsheet, July 2014
Factsheet, 7 February 2006
Factsheet, December 2007

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.

[eubam_faqs-1] 1 2 3 FAQs Archived 2015-11-18 at the Wayback Machine . EU BAM Rafah. Accessed September 2015

[2] Khalid Amayreh (23 June 2006). "Hamas threatens to end Rafah deal". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 6 August 2012.

[3] POLITICAL AND SECURITY COMMITTEE DECISION extending the mandate of the Head of Mission of the European Union Border Assistance Mission for the Rafah Crossing Point (EU BAM Rafah) (EU BAM Rafah/1/2016)

[4] Council Conclusions on the Middle East Peace Process, point 4. Council of the European Union, 20 July 2015

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]