Cairo / PNN / Palestinian police personnel from Gaza are receiving training in Egypt to participate in a force expected to take over security responsibilities in the Strip after the end of the war, a Palestinian official told Agence France-Presse on Sunday.The official, who requested anonymity, said that more than 500 police officers and personnel underwent operational and theoretical training in Cairo in March, while hundreds more have been continuing similar training since the end of September.A 26-year-old Palestinian officer participating in the program, who also requested not to be named, said, “I am very pleased with this training. We want the war and aggression to end permanently, and we are eager to serve our country and people.”He expressed hope that the new security force would be “independent, not tied to external alliances or agendas. We want it loyal only to Palestine.” The Palestinian official added that the newly trained personnel will form part of a 5,000-strong force, all from Gaza, but whose salaries are paid by the Palestinian Authority based in Ramallah.Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdel-Aty announced in August during a visit to the Egyptian side of the Rafah crossing with his Palestinian counterpart, Mohammad Mustafa, that Cairo is implementing a plan to train 5,000 Palestinian security officers in preparation for deployment in Gaza after the war.Under an Egypt-brokered agreement concluded at the end of 2024 between Hamas and Fatah, led by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, the 5,000 PA-affiliated officers will be merged with 5,000 counterparts from the Hamas-run police in Gaza.The police force will operate under the supervision of the “Independent Competencies Committee” (technocrats) agreed upon by Hamas and Fatah to manage Gaza and will be deployed after the war.“Aftermath of October 7”The plan proposed by former U.S. President Donald Trump to end the Gaza war, recently endorsed by a UN Security Council resolution, calls for Gaza to be governed “under a temporary transitional authority led by a technocratic, non-partisan Palestinian committee” responsible for daily services, under international supervision.The plan also includes building an international stabilization force to support the Palestinian police in Gaza, coordinated with the United States, Jordan, and Egypt.According to the Palestinian official, the Egyptian training program is coordinated with the Palestinian Authority.A senior Palestinian security officer, who requested anonymity, confirmed that Mahmoud Abbas instructed Interior Minister Ziad Hab Al-Rih to coordinate with Egypt to train the police and security forces in Gaza.Each training course lasts two months and includes physical exercises, practical drills, awareness sessions, and security lectures.A First Lieutenant in the PA who participated in the first course said the training included theoretical security and political lectures covering the “aftermath” of the October 7, 2023 attack and its “impact” on the Palestinian cause. The lectures also emphasized the role of the Palestine Liberation Organization as the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinians and the importance of “protecting the dream of establishing a Palestinian state.”Crossing SecurityThe officer was able to leave Gaza with his family in February last year and, in March, joined a two-month training course at the Police Academy in Cairo, where he had previously studied before the war.He said he was part of a group of 50 officers who “received excellent operational training using advanced border monitoring technologies and security scanning equipment at crossings.”According to an Egyptian source familiar with the training plan, Cairo aims to prepare the Palestinian police force to take over the security of Gaza and its crossings.In Brussels, a European official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the European Union intends to train nearly 3,000 police officers from Gaza outside the territory. Since 2006, the EU has funded a police training mission in the occupied West Bank with a budget of around €13 million (approximately $15 million).The official noted that “there will be a need to stabilize Gaza with a large police force” after the war.A senior Hamas official said the movement “supports national Palestinian agreements on all security and governance issues in the Strip,” while Israel (and Trump’s plan) reject any role for Hamas in post-war governance.Although Hamas previously agreed not to govern the Strip, it has so far refused to disarm, as demanded by international and Arab plans, insisting on having a say in the future governance of Gaza.The Hamas official added that the main challenge is “whether an agreement will be reached with Israel regarding the powers and independence of this police force.