The Justice for All project begins a training course to strengthen the capacities of police officers in Gaza

Gaza, Media Unit:
The Justice for All project at the Palestinian Center for Democracy and Conflict Resolution began carrying out a training course entitled "Strengthening the legal capacities of those charged with law enforcement", with the participation of a number of police and security officers in the Gaza governorates.

Iyad Abu Hjair, director of the Conflict Resolution Center's Gaza branch, praised the joint cooperation with the General Directorate of Training at the Palestinian Ministry of Interior and National Security in the coming period. He added: "This training course comes as a launching point for achieving the rule of law in Palestinian society and ensuring that rights are given to all citizens."

He confirmed that the Conflict Resolution Center has, since its founding, delivered a range of projects and programmes, in addition to the Centre's focus on increasing awareness of community and political issues, on training and capacity building for the influential groups in the local community, and on seeking to adopt community causes in order to create pressure and influence on decision-makers.

Abu Hjair explained that his Centre has contributed to the cause of national reconciliation by presenting an initiative to end the division and delivering a document from the Centre to the Hamas and Fatah movements in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. He noted the continuing engagement with reconciliation figures and the families of the victims of the division in order to ensure the social fabric is strongly restored across the country's governorates.

For his part, Younis Al-Tahrawi, coordinator of the Justice for All project, noted that the training courses for police and security officers will include the participation of 75 security and police officers distributed across three training courses held at the Conflict Resolution Center's main premises in Gaza City and its branch in the Middle governorate.

Al-Tahrawi said: "The training courses cover the subjects of the rule of law and public freedoms in the Palestinian Basic Law, the law on officers' service, the legal procedures in arrest, search, investigation and questioning, and the law on rehabilitation and correction centres."

For his part, Hisham Al-Kariri, coordinator at the General Directorate of Training at the Ministry of Interior, welcomed the role played by the Conflict Resolution Center in refining the legal skills of police and security officers, which will be reflected positively on the local community. He explained that engagement continues with governmental and non-governmental organisations in order to raise the capacities of the non-commissioned officers, the directorates and the service departments at the ministry.