In Ramallah today (28 May) Ambassador Andreas Michaelis, Director-General for Near and Middle Eastern Affairs at the Federal Foreign Office, presented the Palestinian Civil Police with 31 more patrol cars and 300 two-way radios. With this latest donation Germany has now provided the Palestinian Civil Police with more than 50 patrol cars and 550 two-way radios over the past 12 months.

Speaking in Berlin, Federal Foreign Minister Steinmeier pointed out how valuable this assistance is:

“Equipping the Palestinian Civil Police is an important dimension of our support for the development of the Palestinian territories. Professional policing is a key constituent of functioning Palestinian statehood. In this area we will continue to work closely also with the new Palestinian Government under Prime Minister Fayad.

Equipping the police force with patrol cars and radios is part of the 15 million euro aid package pledged by Germany in June 2008 at the Berlin Conference in Support of Palestinian Civil Security and the Rule of Law, to help develop the Palestinian police and Justice Sector.

In addition, Germany is participating in a pilot project to build 55 standardized and functional police stations on the West Bank. Another important aspect of Germany's support for the security sector is providing training and further training for Palestinian police officers. Over 400 Palestinian police officers have been trained to date.