<h6><strong>Eduardo González</strong></h6> <h4><strong>Spain is to send a total of 12 personnel, including 10 Civil Guard officers, to the European civil mission EUBAM Rafah, announced last Monday by the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security, Kaja Kallas, with the mission of helping to manage the only border crossing between the Gaza Strip and Egypt, according to the Foreign and Interior Ministries on Friday.</strong></h4> “Spain reinforces its commitment to stability and international cooperation in the Middle East through the active participation of the Civil Guard in the European Union mission to control the Rafah border crossing,” the Foreign and Interior Ministries said in a joint statement on Friday. “A team of ten Spanish agents, integrated into the European Gendarmerie Force (EUROGENDFOR), will play a key role in the EUBAM Rafah mission, contributing both to the protection and security of the international team and to supporting the Palestinian Authority in managing transit at the border post,” they added. The Spanish contingent, they specified, is made up of eight security specialists, headed by a captain from the Rapid Action Group (GAR), and two agents assigned to the border management team. In addition to them, two members of the European mission of Spanish nationality have moved to the area, bringing the total number of Spanish personnel deployed by the mission to twelve. “The reopening of the Rafah crossing, promoted by the EU with the agreement of Israel, Egypt and the Palestinian Authority, will allow the evacuation of the wounded and facilitate humanitarian transit,” the statement continued. “Spain, as a key player in this mission, reaffirms its leadership within the framework of European cooperation and its commitment to security and humanitarian assistance in the region,” he concluded. This Friday, the redeployment of the EUBAM Rafah mission began, as Kaja Kallas announced last Monday after the Foreign Affairs Council (FAC) in Brussels. The objective of this mission, according to Kallas, will be to support the implementation of the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, “supervise border controls” and allow “the transfer of wounded people out of Gaza to receive treatment,” she added. This mission, she specified, is carried out at the “invitation of both Palestine and Israel, and Egypt also agreed to this, because it considers that it is also important for the implementation of the ceasefire.” On Monday, Albares announced in Brussels his intention to request the deployment of “a European mission at the Rafah crossing to help control the entry and exit of people and to normalise this crossing,” and he assured that, if the proposal goes ahead, “the Spanish Civil Guard will be present in this mission.” In this case, he specified, it will be Kaja Kallas “who will tell us how many troops are needed and the deadlines.”
