EU civilian mission donates equipment to Palestinian Civil Police to help the fight against COVID-19
In order to support the Palestinian Civil Police and keep police officers and the general public safe in the ongoing fight against Covid-19, EUPOL COPPS has made a donation today of EUR 60,000 worth of personal protective equipment and hand sanitiser.
EUPOL COPPS, first launched in 2006, is an EU civilian mission assisting the Palestinian Authority in building its institutions, focusing on security and justice sector reforms. Ultimately the mission’s objective is to improve the safety and security of the Palestinian people. Through the difficult times of the coronavirus pandemic, the EU continues to stand by its partners.
“The Palestinian Civil Police are carrying out their duty to serve the public in extremely challenging circumstances. Frontline police officers do not have the option of working from home, and they need to be provided with the necessary protective equipment. For the public to be kept safe, the police need to be kept safe also. We are very happy to provide the assistance that our partners in the Palestinian Civil Police asked for and would like to pay tribute to their courage and dedication during this difficult period,” said EUPOL COPPS Deputy Head of Mission Katja Dominik, who briefly met Colonel Tareq Dawabshah, Deputy Head of Chief of PCP Secretariat/ Head of International Liaison Office at a safe distance to deliver the equipment.
It is expected that the donation will cover the needs of the Palestinian Civil Police for the next three months. The donated equipment entails 45,000 daily use face masks, 5,000 N95 face masks, 500 protective eye goggles, 200 full-face 3M masks, 1,000 hooded protective overalls and 3,000 500ml bottles of hand sanitiser.
“We appreciate this gesture. This donation will help us to do our job better during these hard times,” said Colonel Dawabshah.
The handover of protective equipment and sanitiser is part of a wider commitment made by the EU institutions, EU member states, Norway and Switzerland working as part of the ‘Team Europe’ coalition to support Palestinians in the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic as well as its humanitarian, health, social and economic consequences.
