Germany has announced plans to send border guards to the Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt as part of a European Union mission to support border monitoring.
Interior Ministry spokesman Maximilian Kall confirmed the proposal on Wednesday but emphasized that discussions are ongoing with the Foreign Office to ensure the safety of personnel deployed to the region.
A report by the German Press Agency (dpa) revealed that Germany’s 2005 cabinet decision on border guard deployment would be amended to allow the use of armed forces. The original framework only permitted unarmed border personnel, but officials now deem the security situation too volatile for such an approach.
The deployment would be under the European Union Border Assistance Mission at Rafah (EUBAM Rafah), which is set to resume operations after being suspended in 2007. The mission was originally established in 2005 to oversee border activity but was halted following Hamas’ takeover of Gaza, prompting the EU to withdraw personnel.
