Shin Bet chief David Zini made a discreet trip to Egypt on Sunday, sitting down with the country’s intelligence director for high-level talks. Kan News reported that their conversation centered on the evolving situation in the Gaza Strip and how both sides envision advancing the next stage of their ongoing understandings. The visit is widely viewed as Zini’s first formal overseas engagement since assuming his position.
Earlier in the day, a senior Palestinian Arab official told Agence France-Presse that Egyptian security services have already begun preparing Palestinian Arab police forces for their anticipated role in governing Gaza once hostilities end. This training effort has quietly been underway for months.
According to that report, Egypt ran an extensive program in March in which more than 500 Palestinian Arab police personnel and operatives were put through physical, tactical, and classroom-based instruction. Hundreds more have been participating in additional rounds of training since September, part of a growing pipeline Egypt intends to expand.
Several months back, Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdel-Ati publicly explained that Cairo’s plan was to train and equip as many as 5,000 Palestinian Arab officers who could be deployed in Gaza when a new administrative framework takes shape. That initiative appears to be moving forward.
Al-Araby Al-Jadeed added further context, noting that under the Fatah-Hamas understanding reached with Egyptian mediation at the end of 2024, the technocratic administration expected to govern Gaza after the war will enlist 5,000 newly trained police recruits. These will serve alongside another 5,000 officers who had previously worked under the Hamas-run security structure.
Another Palestinian Arab source indicated that the entire training and preparation effort is being conducted in full coordination with the Palestinian Authority. These officers, the source said, will be funded through the Palestinian Authority in Ramallah, which is slated to oversee their salaries once they take up their roles in Gaza.
{Matzav.com}
