UK, Australia, Canada launch $4m peace fund for Israel-Palestine conflict

Britain, Australia and Canada have launched a joint peace fund to advocate for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, with each country contributing £1m ($1.34m) to ⁠the initiative.

The fund, which was announced on Thursday, will focus on new and existing grassroots projects – particularly those that include youth ‌groups, ⁠civil society organisations and women, according to a news release from the United Kingdom foreign ministry.

The move comes after the three countries – alongside France, New Zealand, and Norway – announced coordinated sanctions against networks financing and executing Israeli settler violence against Palestinians in the illegally occupied West Bank earlier this week.

The Western countries’ response follows record illegal settlement expansion and rising violence by Israelis in the West Bank.

“Peace, justice and security in the Middle East depends on a two-state solution and it is why our countries have recognised the State of Palestine alongside the State of Israel,” British Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said in the statement.

“But too often Middle East peace is seen as an issue only of international diplomacy. When generations of Israelis and Palestinians have grown up with cycles of conflict and violence, we also need to support the local community organisations who are building dialogue, peace and trust across communities.”

In addition to providing humanitarian support to Palestinians, the initiative also aims to crack down on “violent” Israeli settlers, and support United States President Donald Trump’s 20-point Gaza peace plan.

The fund is focused on “long-term peacebuilding between Israelis and Palestinians to address root causes of conflict”, the ministry said.

Cooper said that a “negotiated two-state solution remains the only viable route to a just and lasting peace”.

“This Fund will help support progress towards that goal from within those communities themselves,” she added.

The £3m ($4.02m) fund will seek to scale up and attract additional donors ⁠once it is operational.

The initiative was announced ahead of a meeting in Britain between the UK’s Cooper and her Australian and Canadian ⁠counterparts, Penny Wong and Anita Anand.

“Alongside our international partners, we are clear that a negotiated two-state solution remains the only viable route to a just and lasting peace, with security and dignity for Israelis and Palestinians alike.”

Since the start of Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza on October 7, 2023, the West Bank has been gripped by almost daily violence against Palestinians involving Israeli troops and settlers. More than 1,000 Palestinians have been killed in the territory in that period, according to the United Nations.