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Egypt trains hundreds of Palestinians for a future Gaza police force
Egypt is currently training hundreds of Palestinian police officers as part of a long-term plan to establish a security force in Gaza once the war ends, a senior Palestinian official told AFP.
The initiative stems from a broader program announced in August, when Egypt’s Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty confirmed Cairo’s intention to train 5,000 Palestinian officers during a meeting with Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa. The first training sessions took place in March, involving more than 500 officers. Since September, new groups have been undergoing two-month training cycles in the Egyptian capital.
A 26-year-old Palestinian officer participating in the program said he hoped for “a permanent end to the war” and expressed pride in joining an effort aimed at serving “our country and our people.” He emphasized the need for an “independent security force loyal only to Palestine, free from external agendas.”
According to the Palestinian official, the trainees are expected to form a 5,000-member police corps made up exclusively of Gaza residents and paid by the Palestinian Authority (PA), headquartered in Ramallah.
Another participant, a lieutenant who left Gaza in 2024, described the training as “exceptional,” highlighting the use of modern surveillance tools and border security techniques. He explained that the curriculum also covered the consequences of Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, the resulting war, and its impact on the Palestinian national cause. A major focus was the role of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) as the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people and the importance of safeguarding the “dream of statehood.”
A senior PA security official confirmed that President Mahmoud Abbas instructed Interior Minister Ziad Hab al-Reeh to coordinate with Egypt on forming new security units for Gaza.
During talks hosted by Egypt in late 2024, Palestinian factions — including Hamas and Fatah — agreed in principle to create a joint police force of about 10,000 officers: 5,000 trained by Egypt and 5,000 from Gaza’s existing police structures, overseen by a technocratic committee approved by all parties.
A Hamas official told AFP that the movement endorsed the security arrangements reached during those negotiations.
This security component also appears in U.S. President Donald Trump’s plan, which facilitated the fragile ceasefire that took effect on October 10. A UN Security Council resolution adopted on November 17 supports the deployment of an international force in Gaza to oversee demilitarization and safeguard borders with Israel and Egypt.
While the European Union is also considering training up to 3,000 officers — similar to its ongoing program in the West Bank since 2006 — uncertainties remain. A Hamas official questioned whether Israel would approve the mandate and authority of any future Gaza police force.
