GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — The newly established community police affiliated with the Ministry of Interior in the Gaza Strip started its work in early June. 

The move comes after a decision issued by the General Administration of the Palestinian Civil Police to establish the community police unit on May 16, with the aim to reduce the load of civil affairs presented to courts, which usually take long years to be settled due to the low number of judges in the Gaza Strip.

Wiam Matar, director of the Community Police Department, told Al-Monitor that the community police has several tasks, notably achieving rapprochement between the police and the community, finding amicable solutions between feuding parties — whether they are individuals or families — and working to remove the causes of negative social phenomena such as family quarrels through workshops and meetings with notable people from the families.

Matar explained that the community police are adopting friendly methods to achieve their tasks away from official procedures by meeting with the parties to the conflict and mediating to reach a solution acceptable to all parties and avoid resorting to regular courts.