EUBAM - What an "original" idea!!!

France, Great Britain, and Germany have an initiative to upgrade the observers so that they can prevent weapons from being smuggled into the Gaza Strip. Israel’s Channel 2 News learned that the three countries plan to present the initiative tonight. If the move goes ahead, it will include Abu Mazen’s forces returning to Rafah. Aug 06, 2014, 08:00PM | Rachel Avraham Seven years after fleeing the threat of Hamas, will the European inspectors return to the Rafah Crossing? Germany, France and the UK seek to upgrade the status of EUBAM observers so that they will have the power to prevent weapons smuggling into Gaza. Channel 2 News has learned that the representatives of the three countries plan to present the initiative to Netanyahu’s National Security Advisor, Yossi Cohen. According to the report, the move could be carried out if Egypt forces Hamas to bring Abbas to the Rafah Crossing, as it undertakes to do. In 2007, after the Hamas takeover of Gaza, inspectors fled following a series of attacks by Hamas. Since they live in Ashkelon, they hope to be able to return to their work. The original mission of the EUBAM inspectors was to prevent the entry of weapons into Gaza, a job made impossible with Hamas’ takeover of the Gaza Strip. Now, the Europeans hope that in the framework of the negotiations conducted with Hamas in Egypt, the right conditions will be created that will permit them to resume their work. The European Union Border Assistance Mission at the Rafah Crossing Point (EU BAM Rafah) is, after the European Union Police Mission for the Gaza Strip (EU COPPS), the EU's second Civilian Crisis Management Mission in the occupied Palestinian territory. The Mission was launched on 24 November 2005, to monitor the operations of the border crossing point between the Gaza Strip and Egypt, after Israel and the Palestinian Authority concluded an Agreement on Movement and Access on 15 November 2005. When the mission was deployed at the RCP, it did consist of roughly 70 personnel including a special security team. 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). During the 19 months (end of November 2005 until June 2007) while the EU monitors were present at the terminal, a total of nearly 450 000 passengers used the crossing before that date, with an average of about 1 500 people a day. The EU BAM headquarters is currently based in Tel Aviv, Israel, being previously located in Ashkelon. 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.