Britain, Australia, and Canada launched a £3 million ($4 million) International Peace Fund on Thursday at Chevening, the British foreign secretary’s country residence, to finance Israeli-Palestinian grassroots projects meant to rebuild trust and keep the idea of two states from becoming another diplomatic fossil.
Each country is putting in £1 million, with the money aimed at civil society groups, youth initiatives, women-led programs, and local projects that bring Israelis and Palestinians into direct contact. The fund is meant to support both existing programs and new ventures, and officials say they hope to bring in more donors once it is running.
UK Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper announced the initiative while hosting Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong and Canadian Foreign Minister Anita Anand for talks that also covered the Strait of Hormuz, Ukraine, Sudan, antisemitism, and the wider Middle East crisis.
“Peace, justice, and security in the Middle East depends on a two-state solution, and it is why our countries have recognized the State of Palestine alongside the State of Israel,” Cooper said.
The project is a small pot of money by the standards of Middle East diplomacy, where billions can vanish into rubble, bureaucracy, and border crossings. Its political message is larger: London, Canberra, and Ottawa are trying to pair state-level pressure with bottom-up peacebuilding at a time when formal Israeli-Palestinian talks remain frozen and public faith on both sides is badly battered.
The three governments said the fund will complement humanitarian support for Palestinians, efforts to support a 20-point Gaza peace plan, and action against violent settlers in the West Bank. Earlier this week, Britain, Canada, France, and Norway imposed sanctions on individuals and entities accused of financing or enabling attacks on Palestinians, while Australia and New Zealand had already announced coordinated measures.
The ministers also said Hamas must be disarmed, disempowered, and dismantled so it has no role in future Palestinian governance and poses no future threat to Israel. They also pledged to confront antisemitic violence after attacks on Jewish communities in the UK, Australia, and Canada over the past year.
