of a Palestinian State, while contributing to the security of Israel. Organisation The EU BAM is a civilian and unarmed Mission, composed mainly of Police, Border Police and Customs officers. It was originally intended to have the Mission in the Gaza Strip in a special-built compound at Rafah Crossing Point (RCP), with the Mission Headquarters in Gaza City. However, due to security, the headquarters is currently based in Tel Aviv, Israel, being previously located in Ashkelon. The Mission also has a field office in Gaza city. The number of personnel has been considerably reduced. Despite the suspension of operations at the RCP in June 2007, EU BAM has maintained its capacity to redeploy to the RCP. The Mission retains its expertise in Border Management and Customs Operations and is regularly approached to share its expertise with other stakeholders involved in the issue of Border and Crossing. The mission is also liaising with the parties on a regular basis and on the operational level. Tasks Tasks of the EU BAM Rafah are: actively monitor, verify and evaluate the PA's performance with regard to the implementation of the Framework, Security and Customs Agreements concluded between the parties on the operation of the Rafah terminal; contribute, through mentoring, to building up the Palestinian capacity in all aspects of border management at Rafah. contribute to the liaison between the Palestinian, Israeli and Egyptian authorities in all aspects regarding the management of the Rafah Crossing Point. The EU considers maintaining the acquis of the AMA and the EU's third party role as important and stands ready to redeploy to the crossing point should the political and security conditions allow. The RCP was opened by Egypt on 28 May 2011 and has been operating outside the scope of the AMA ever since. History Until 2007, EU BAM Rafah monitors would use the Kerem Shalom border crossing to get to the Rafah Border Crossing. The EUBAM headed a Liaison Office at Kerem Shalom which received real-time video and data feeds of activities at the Rafah crossing. The live feed would also be received by Israeli monitors. The Liaison Office met regularly to review implementation of the Agreed Principles for Rafah Crossing, to resolve any dispute pertaining to the agreement, and to perform other tasks specified therein. The Liaison Office was manned by liaison officers from EUBAM, the Palestinian Authority, and the IsraelI government. On 13 June 2007,