A delicate mission, especially at a time when suspicions between Israelis and Palestinians are stronger than ever, and therefore require diplomatic as well as operational skills. The mission Miadit, in which thirty Italian carabinieri participate, aims to help the Palestinian authority to build prepared and capable police forces to deal with the problems that arise every day in crime prevention and repression.
Passing the message that training is not being done for the benefit of the Palestinians and to the detriment of Israel, but that all parties can benefit from constructive and equal security confrontation has been difficult since the mission began to operate in the 2014. But today, having reached the fourth "edition", we can say that the Miadit has not only known how to win the trust of the Palestinian authority that is beginning to see the first effects of training on the field, but it has also been able to collect an ok from the Israeli side that is not only a façade, but concrete and tangible. It is not a case, in fact, if the mission enjoys the collaboration with the cogat Israeli (Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories), with theUSSC (United States Security Coordinator for Palestine and Israel) and with theEupol Copps (Eu co-ordinating office for Palestinian police support).
The purposes approved by all partners are varied. Protecting the Palestinian cultural heritage - a source of income for the territory and that in Jericho, the headquarters of the mission and the city classified as the oldest in the world, is concentrated to an enormous extent - it is among the most important. This considered that a culture of safeguarding the historical and artistic assets that most attract tourists from all over the world is not yet adequately developed in the area.
Controlling the territory by adopting a code of conduct and appropriate police procedures, organized and not improvised, is another of the tasks for which the Palestinian authority has specifically requested the support of the Italian Army. Knowing how to defend yourself against computer crimes with the appropriate techniques cyber crime investigation it is an additional capacity that is attempted to build with the training courses organized in Jericho. Ultimately, all the excellences for which Italian carabinieri are called around the world to teach local defense forces have been transported, with the intention of providing tactical and police training to those involved in security, in courses held in the territories.
To take advantage of the training of the carabinieri, are all the "souls" of the Palestinian police and of the schools dedicated to training in this regard. The lessons are held in fact for the benefit of the GMTC (General military training center), the CTI (Central training institute), the PG (Presidential Guard), the NSF (National security force) and the PCP (Palestinian civil force). The ultimate goal is to make the forces completely autonomous, able to manage all normal police operations without any external support, with the right criteria for coordination and appropriate professional skills.
The training cycles include lessons on the code of conduct, basic police procedures, communications, territorial control, and also shooting lessons, escort operations and protection, explosives recognition. In the training we also speak, as mentioned, of police operations in urban areas, of cultural heritage protection. Finally, intensive gymnastic training and self-defense lessons are held.
Deficiencies and potential to be developed are identified above all on two fronts. "The protection of cultural heritage and the fight against cyber crime are the two sectors in which more incisive actions are needed and on which we are fighting a lot, because on these issues there is still too little knowledge", Specifies Colonel Marco Di Stefano, commander of the mission.
"The organization chart is structured in such a way that everyone can put their skills at the service of others and that they can be coordinated quickly and effectively”, Explains the commander of the training unit, Lieutenant Colonel Guido Ruggeri. The latter has the task of governing the Tactical section, formed by the carabinieri of the first paratrooper regiment Tuscania and the seventh regiment, and the police section, composed of the second mobile police carabinieri of the thirteenth regiment and the Coespu.
To assist the two figures of reference, the staff always composed of Italian soldiers of the Arma and the liaison officer, graduated Palestinian with the task of ensuring the exchange and communication between trainers and trained.
(photo: Daniela Lombardi)
