EU-trained women join Palestinian police.

JERICHO, West Bank - The first class of Palestinian policewomen to complete a new European Union-sponsored training program graduated Sunday, part of a broader EU makeover of the demoralized and ill-equipped Palestinian law enforcement agencies.

The 45 rookies will join a small group of women serving in a role still largely frowned upon in conservative Palestinian society.

Arms swinging, backs ramrod straight, the new graduates marched across the academy’s parade ground in the desert oasis of Jericho. The women, many with Islamic headscarves under their police berets, wore blue shirts, black pants and combat boots.