Ramallah, Jerusalem, Amman, Beirut, 01/02/2012 (Agence Europe) - Whether it is in the Palestinian Territories, with the two civilian missions in the West bank and in the Gaza Strip, or in the refugee camps in Jordan and Lebanon, through aid funding or its contribution to the budget of the United Nations mission for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, the EU's presence in the Middle East is clear to see and is huge, in terms both of the financing and the diversity of the projects supported.
Perhaps one of the most appropriate ways to describe EU commitment in the Middle East, and how that presence is perceived by those who live there, is a description of the state of progress of the two civilian missions that are currently deployed as part of common security and defence policy (CSDP) in the Palestinian towns of Ramallah in the West Bank and Rafah in the Gaza Strip. The fact that one of those missions has been a success and the other a relative failure reflects how difficult it is for the EU to act as anything other than a player seeking to remain relatively unbiased, in conjunction with the tameness shown by a number of our interlocutors, in the persisting conflict between Israelis and Palestinians, without there being any foreseeable solution in the short term. Such was the admission by various representatives of the Palestinian Authority and of Israel historian, Mordechai Baron, whom Agence Europe had occasion to meet in the West Bank and in Jerusalem. Symptomatic of the commitment, which can be effective while at the same time being impotent, the EUPOL COPPS mission is described both by head of mission Henrik Malmquist and Palestinian Authority spokesman Ghassan Khatib as a real success, while, at the same time, the EUBAM Rafah mission, despite raising some hope, was suspended soon after being set up in 2006.
EUPOL COPPS. The European mission in Ramallah, the main aim of which is to frame civil and judiciary police institution-building in the West Bank, was established on 1 January 2006. It is headed today by Henrik Malmquist of Sweden, whom Agence Europe and two other European journalists met in Ramallah during a trip from 22 and 29 January organised by the UN mission for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) and funded by the European Commission. Malmquist describes the current prerogatives of the mission as equivalent to the role played by “a big consultancy agency”. EUPOL COPPS employs 53 staff from the EU. This number is soon to be increased to 70 further to the extension, in December 2011, of the mandate until 30 June 2012 (with the addition of 40 locally employed members). It contributes to strengthening democratic mechanisms and giving more responsibility to civil police forces and provides a framework for calls for tender relating to equipment and material. Malmquist believes that EU action is seen on all sides as being useful as well as unbiased because of its civilian nature. “We are very well received and perceived”, not only by the Israelis but also by the Palestinians, he asserted. The former see the development of police forces as an effective way to stabilise and secure the Palestinian territories, while the latter see it as one of the elements needed for building an independent state. Malmquist was keen to specify that, in the case of the Palestinian Authority, “it is not a failed state, the institutions are pretty advanced”, and the “Palestinians' police service could assume responsibility for being an independent state tomorrow, without any problems whatsoever”, even though European presence is still needed. He nonetheless believes that the European presence is still necessary in order to strengthen the various institutions, although this cannot conceal the reality of how Palestinian institutions can work in the West Bank when under occupation. Although the civil police forces trained by the EU enjoy a certain amount of dominion, limits to its control are twofold, the head of mission said. On one hand, they exercise authority on fragmented territory (one of the three zones set up by the Israelis), making up only 18% of the surface area of the West Bank. On the other hand, Israeli security forces reserve themselves the right to enter that zone and to carry out arrests, sometimes without warning. Palestinian police are ordered to keep at a distance to “avoid confrontation”. What is all too evident is that “it is not good for the self esteem of a policeman to pull back when the occupation power comes around”, he said. Then there is also the difficulty of managing procurement of material. Although the European mission does not provide any own funds, it does seek to manage purchases made by the Palestinian Authority for the civilian police. Problems arise during delivery of that material, which must inevitably receive the authorisation of the Israeli customs service - and this “can take years sometimes”, even for motor vehicles or jackets.
EUBAM Rafah. Although the European Border Assistance Mission in the Palestinian town of Rafah, the border crossing point with Egypt, is currently suspended, its mandate has been renewed - as has that of EUPOL COPPS - until 30 June this year. The initial objective of the mission is to “actively monitor, verify and evaluate the action of the Palestinian Authority” which has assumed control of the Rafah border since 2005, since withdrawal of the Israeli army. It was decided in June 2007, when Hamas took over control of the Gaza Strip, that the mission should be suspended. Today, fewer than 20 members of the mission are still there, based in an HQ that should be only temporary, in the Israeli town of Ashkelon (to the north of Gaza). They are unable to fulfil their mandate, and are there waiting for the situation to ease. Ghassan Khatib, the spokesman for the Palestinian Authority, whom Agence Europe and other journalists met in his Ramallah office on Thursday 26 January, said the European mission is of special significance. He considers in fact that it is solely thanks to the presence of the EU that the crossing point, which is of vital importance for Palestinians living on the most densely populated territory in the world (4,000 inhabitants/km2), was able to open. An agreement was reached with Israeli authorities when the EU undertook to be on the ground to monitor the operation of the crossing point. Although one European diplomat confided that strategic review was well underway in order to assess the possibility of reactivating the mission and that contact is maintained with Israelis and Egyptian authorities, Khatib believes there will be no formal talks. Council extension of the mandate would be “just in case it thinks it might work but, frankly”, he said, “I am not hopeful that Hamas will allow peace arrangements to be in place again”, in order to allow the EUBAM mission to be reactivated. He went on to add that it is also the fact that there is no strong political resolve on the part of the EU that the issue remains in stalemate.
UNRWA funding. The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) was set up by the United Nations in 1949 to provide assistance to the Palestinian refugees scattered around the region after the first Arab-Israeli conflict in 1948. It is almost entirely funded by donation, including from the European Commission, which is the largest donor after the United States, and other EU state contributors. Between 2000 and 2011, the EU contributed around €1.2 billion to the UNRWA general budget. UNRWA then allocates its resources to the various programmes it finances throughout the Middle East. The financial aid from the EU is seen by many Palestinian refugees whom Agence Europe met in Amari camp in the city of Ramallah and the Aqabet Jaber camp near Jericho in the West Bank, in the city of Amman in Jordan and in two camps in Lebanon, Nahr el-Bared in the north and Burj el-Barajneh in Beirut, as vital assistance that allows them to retain a little dignity.
It is the situation of the refugees in Lebanon that gives the greatest cause for concern as the Lebanese government continues to regard these refugees as temporary visitors, Salvatore Lombardo, Director of UNRWA Affairs in Lebanon explained in Beirut on Friday 27 January. The myriad of aid programmes certainly provides some comfort to the refugees, but Lombardo admits that his work “is a nightmare, because there's no political solution”. The situation of Nour Rafik Ghoneim, a 24-year-old met by Agence Europe and other journalists in the Nahr el-Bared camp in Lebanon, provides the perfect illustration of Lombardo's comments. This young student receives a grant from the EU and is studying to become an industrial engineer at the Beirut Arab University. On average 85 grants are provided annually for Palestinian refugees in Lebanon. However, with over 700 applications, the limits of what this aid, which is not always backed up by political action, can do to preserve the fragile regional balance are clear to see. Palestinian refugees, who number between 400,000 (according to official figures) and 900,000 in a total population of over four million in Lebanon, are not allowed to exercise certain professions, such as architect, engineer and doctor, outside the refugee camps where job opportunities are to say the least rare. So, although he has had the opportunity to follow a university course thanks to the EU, this young student says his only hope, if he is to work in his chosen profession, is to emigrate - even though he does not have a passport.
The link between the two aspects of EU foreign policy that are humanitarian aid and diplomatic action was explicitly made by European foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton during her visit to the Middle East on 24-26 January. She said that “continued EU support to UNRWA is an essential element of the EU strategy to bring peace and stability to the region”. The two civilian missions and the funding of UNRWA are clear demonstrations of the complexity of the situation in which the EU has to operate and the dual nature of its Middle East policy which seeks to maintain local balance, both in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and with regard to the problem of Palestinian refugees, particularly in Lebanon. By analogy, EU action in the region seeks to reconcile the interests of the local actors while reflecting the diversity in the positions of its member states. Dr Mustapha Barghouti, a Palestinian activist and unsuccessful candidate in the 2005 presidential election, when interviewed in Ramallah on Tuesday 24 January, argued that the EU is operating a double standard in the Middle East, reminiscent of European positions towards certain North Africa states before the Arab Spring. It is not enough to mouth criticism, he stated. Only the EU has sufficient leverage and the political resources to influence Israel's policy in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, he felt. However, to the question of how he saw the future, Barghouti replied: “I always say that we can't allow ourselves to become frustrated and depressed”, even though the peace process has stalled and it is difficult at the moment to imagine any kind of agreement between Israelis and Palestinians. (JK/transl.jl/rt)