The cooperation we established with the Building Bridges Pilot Project (BB) is uplifting for our spirit, said Bethlehem District Commander Brigadier Morad Qandah, when he met EUPOL COPPS Head of Mission (HoM), Felix Andaker, for the first time.

The two met in the Bethlehem Palestinian Civil Police (PCP) District HQ, where the HoM had the opportunity to listen to his Palestinian counterparts on why the BB Project makes sense.

The Bethlehem Pilot Project, led by EUPOL COPPS in partnership with the PCP and the Palestinian justice sector institutions, aims at strengthening cooperation, community policing, gender awareness, criminal investigations, and family protection services in various Palestinian Districts. This involves the PCP, the courts, the prosecutors, and the Palestinian Bar Association, and Palestinian Civil Society actors.

So far, the BB has fostered cooperation and enhanced synergies, as the Brigadier underlined mentioning proposal emerging after each session of the project.

When at the Bethlehem PCP premises, the HoM visited the multi-purpose room created with the support of EUPOL COPPS. Before the creation of this space, used for professional events such as lectures and training, functions were held in the canteen, without equipment for multimedia, or air conditioning, a PCP officer said. The HoM also visited the Bethlehem District Criminal Investigation Department (CID) Premises, also refurbished through EUPOL COPPS support.

In relation to Human Rights, a cross-cutting issue within the EUPOL COPPS mandate alongside gender, discussions in Bethlehem touched upon issues related to correctional facilities. Felix Andaker had the opportunity to visit the whole of the PCP premises areas to get a precise picture of needs and areas of future cooperation.

Since the role of the Bethlehem PCP is key within the wider socio-economic setting of the city, for example during the Christmas celebrations in Manger Square, where thousands of people last year gathered, the HoM also visited that area, hearing from a prominent religious figure how important is the role played by the PCP in the sector of Community Policing.

The meeting also aimed at figuring out, together, the best way forward in terms of support that EUPOL COPPS can provide, including in creating synergies between the PCP and other EU actors/mechanisms.

All this happens despite the challenges the PCP faces, including financial hardship and restriction of movements. The HoM said he is humbled by the steadfastness and resilience demonstrated by the PCP, in Bethlehem and beyond, expressing his deepest appreciation, an element that motivates him in his daily work at EUPOL COPPS.