European Union Border Assistance Mission in Rafah (EUBAM – Rafah)
- Duration
- 21 February 2006 - 30 May 2008
- Military personnel
- 13
- Fatalities
- none
- Decorations
- none
In December 1987, the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip on the West Bank of the Jordan rebelled against the Israeli powers, which had occupied this area since the Six Day War of 1967. The uprising – the intifada – lasted for 6 years and ended in 1993 with the signing of the Oslo Accords by the Israeli prime minister, Yitzhak Rabin, and the chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) set up in 1964, Yasser Arafat. The accords granted a Palestine National Authority (PNA) limited autonomy in the Gaza Strip and certain areas of the West Bank.
In 2005, Israel unilaterally ended its occupation of the Gaza Strip. This was because of the inability of the Palestinians to agree amongst themselves on a common standpoint in the peace process. The administration of the Gaza Strip was left entirely to the PNA. Israel retained control of the region’s external border with Egypt, and Gaza’s 1.4 million inhabitants were only able to leave the disputed area via the Rafah Crossing Point (RCP). Israel was willing to open the RCP if an independent third party, the European Union (EU), were to monitor the state of affairs.
The EU therefore established the European Union Border Assistance Mission in Rafah (EUBAM Rafah). This operation began its activities with 5 people on 25 November 2005. EUBAM grew quickly to a strength of 89 personnel from 17 countries.