EU appoints new head to its Rafah border mission

BRUSSELS, Dec 8 (KUNA) -- The EU's Political and Security Committee appointed Friday Gunther Freisleben, a high-ranking German police official, as new Head of the European Union border assistance Mission for the Rafah Crossing Point, EU BAM Rafah.
EU BAM Rafah is mandated to provide a third party presence at the Rafah crossing point to contribute to building confidence between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, said the Committee in a statement.
The mission maintains readiness to redeploy to the Rafah crossing point once the political and security situation allows, it noted.
The mission's current mandate runs until 30 June 2018 and the mission's budget for the period between 1 July 2017 and 30 June 2018 amounts to 1.98 million euro (USD 2.3 million). (end) nk.mt