On Friday 17 January, EU High Representative Kaja Kallas confirmed that the EU was ready to restart its assistance mission at the Rafah border crossing, EUBAM Rafah, following the ceasefire agreement announced on 15 January.
“We are ready to do so”, she explained after a meeting in Brussels with the Palestinian Prime Minister, Mohammed Mustafa, while pointing out that the agreement of the Palestinian Authority, Israel and Egypt was needed before being able to “move forward”.
Work to relaunch this mission, which has been ‘on hold’ since 2007 when Hamas came to power in Gaza, began under Josep Borrell.
On Thursday, the European Commissioner for the Mediterranean, Dubravka Šuica, also met Mr Mustafa to emphasise the EU’s support for Palestinian citizens through the multi-annual global programme for Palestine. In her view, this support must be coordinated with international donors, particularly the Gulf States. Ms Šuica also encouraged the Palestinian Authority to continue its reforms and called for faster progress in reforming the education sector and the social benefits system. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)