Key facts
- Australia, Canada, and the UK launched a $4 million peace fund for Israeli-Palestinian initiatives.
- Each country contributed $1.34 million to the fund.
- The fund aims to support grassroots projects focused on youth, civil society, and women.
- The initiative seeks to foster a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
- Israeli and Palestinian civil society groups met in France to advocate for peace.
- The meeting occurred amid escalating settler violence in the West Bank.
Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom have launched a joint £3 million ($4 million) peace fund to support initiatives aimed at achieving a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Each nation contributed £1 million ($1.34 million) to the fund, which will focus on grassroots projects involving youth, civil society, and women.
This initiative follows recent coordinated sanctions by these three countries, along with France, New Zealand, and Norway, against individuals and networks financing settler violence in the occupied West Bank. UK Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper stated that a negotiated two-state solution is the only path to lasting peace, emphasizing support for local organizations building dialogue.
Meanwhile, Israeli and Palestinian civil society groups met in France to urge international community support for a two-state solution amid the ongoing Middle East war. The gathering, attended by foreign ministers and senior officials, aimed to keep the peace process alive and concluded with an eight-point "Call for Action" urging a permanent ceasefire, halt to settlements, and Gaza reconstruction. The call is to be delivered to G7 leaders. The conference highlighted escalating settler violence in the West Bank and Israel's E1 project, which diplomats say undermines prospects for a Palestinian state. Israel and the United States declined to attend the meeting.