Germany deploys unarmed police officers in Palestinian territories: Report

BERLIN

Germany has deployed several unarmed police officers to the Palestinian territories to help stabilize the situation and further strengthen local civilian security forces, local media reported on Wednesday.

"A functioning police force is indispensable for lasting peace in the Middle East," Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt told German Press Agency (dpa), adding that is why he decided to send a high-ranking team from the Federal Police to Jerusalem.

The officers are supporting the reconstruction of police and security forces in the Palestinian territories from there and are based at the Office for Security (OSC), Dobrindt said.

The team, initially consisting of four police officers, arrived in the Palestinian territories approximately two weeks ago, according to the news agency.

It said the team’s mission is to further develop Germany's contribution to strengthening the civilian security forces in the Palestinian territories, building upon the more than 15 years of German police support already in place.

EU mission

According to dpa, the EU mission EUBAM Rafah has been active again since the beginning of 2025. Its main task, according to the news agency, is to maintain a neutral presence at the Rafah border crossing between the Gaza Strip and Egypt. Currently, however, it is in a standby mode.

According to the Interior Ministry, Germany is currently participating in the mission with two police officers, both stationed in Ramat Gan, Israel. Coordination and administrative tasks are carried out from Ramat Gan.

The ministry said German participation in the EUPOL COPPS mission, whose mandate is the further development of the Palestinian police and law enforcement in the West Bank, is expected to resume in January next year. A German police officer was last deployed there until the end of October.

Meanwhile, the German Armed Forces currently have three staff officers in southern Israel as part of the so-called stabilization process in the Gaza Strip. According to the Defense Ministry, the soldiers are deployed in uniform but unarmed at the US-led Civil-Military Coordination Center (CMCC).