The UK, Australia, and Canada have jointly announced the establishment of a common peace fund to promote a two-state solution for the Israel-Palestine conflict, with each country contributing £1 million ($1.34 million) to the initiative.
According to a statement from the UK Foreign Office, the fund, announced Thursday, will focus on new and existing community projects, particularly those involving youth groups, civil society organizations, and women.
The move follows earlier coordinated sanctions by the three countries, along with France, New Zealand, and Norway, targeting networks that finance and perpetrate violence by Israeli settlers against Palestinians in the illegally occupied West Bank.
The Western response comes amid record-high illegal settlement expansion and rising Israeli settler violence in the West Bank.
“Peace, justice, and security in the Middle East depend on a two-state solution, and that is why our countries have recognized the State of Palestine alongside the State of Israel,” said UK Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper.
“But for too long, peace in the Middle East has been seen only as a matter of international diplomacy. As generations of Israelis and Palestinians grow up in cycles of conflict and violence, we also need to support local community organizations that are building dialogue, peace, and trust between communities,” Cooper added.
Beyond providing humanitarian aid to Palestinians, the initiative also aims to curb “violent” Israeli settlers and backs U.S. President Donald Trump’s 20-point Gaza peace plan.
The fund targets “long-term peacebuilding between Israelis and Palestinians to address the root causes of the conflict,” the UK Foreign Office said.
Cooper stated that “a negotiated two-state solution remains the only viable path to a just and lasting peace,” adding, “This fund will help support progress toward that goal from within communities.”
The £3 million ($4.02 million) fund is expected to scale up and attract additional donors as it becomes operational. The initiative was unveiled ahead of a meeting in the UK between UK Foreign Secretary Cooper and her Australian counterpart Penny Wong and Canadian counterpart Anita Anand.
Since Israel began its war of annihilation in Gaza on October 7, 2023, the West Bank has seen near-daily violence against Palestinians involving Israeli forces and settlers. According to the United Nations, more than 1,000 Palestinians have been killed in the territory during this period.
A UN investigation found that the Israeli authorities directly participate in settler attacks that result in Palestinian deaths, injuries, and displacement in the West Bank, while Israeli forces provide protection for the settlers.
