UK, Australia, and Canada launch peacebuilding fund for Israelis and Palestinians
The three countries each contributed $1.3 million to launch the International Peace Fund, which will support grassroots initiatives aimed at building trust between Israeli and Palestinian communities
The UK, Australia, and Canada announced the launch of a new International Peace Fund aimed at supporting long-term peacebuilding between Israelis and Palestinians during a meeting of the three countries' foreign ministers. The fund follows coordinated sanctions, imposed Tuesday, by the UK, Australia, Canada, and other partners on networks financing settler violence in the West Bank.
UK Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper hosted her Australian and Canadian counterparts, Penny Wong and Anita Anand, for talks covering the Strait of Hormuz, peace in the Middle East, Ukraine, Sudan, and the global crisis of violence against women and girls. Each country contributed roughly $1.3 million ($4 million total) to launch the fund. Once operational, it will seek additional donors to scale up efforts.
The fund will support practical, grassroots initiatives aimed at rebuilding trust and reducing divisions between Israeli and Palestinian communities. It will invest in both existing programs and new ventures, with an emphasis on youth groups, civil society organizations, and women.
The three ministers also reaffirmed their commitment to the disarmament and dismantling of Hamas as part of the 20-point Gaza peace plan and discussed the global rise in antisemitic hatred.
"When generations of Israelis and Palestinians have grown up with cycles of conflict and violence, we also need to support the local community organizations that are building dialogue, peace, and trust across communities," Cooper said. She called a negotiated two-state solution "the only viable route to a just and lasting peace, with security and dignity for Israelis and Palestinians alike."