The UK, Australia and Canada have created a £3 million "International Peace Fund" to support grassroots peacebuilding between Israelis and Palestinians. Each country has pledged £1 million and the fund will back community projects, youth programmes and civil society groups, drawing on UK experience in Northern Ireland and the Western Balkans. The initiative will be unveiled at Chevening during talks that will also cover Iran's Strait of Hormuz blockade, a rise in antisemitic attacks and recent sanctions on West Bank settlers.
UK, Australia and Canada Launch £3m "International Peace Fund" To Support Israeli-Palestinian Peacebuilding
Teams from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) continue clean-up operations using heavy machinery at one of the city's largest landfill sites, which poses a public health risk, while a view of Gaza City shows accumulated solid waste in streets and near residential areas due to limited municipal capacity and access constraints despite a ceasefire. (is associated with: «UK, Australia and Canada launch fund for peace in Israel and Palestine») Salah Hashem/ZUMA Press Wire/dpa
Britain, Australia and Canada are launching a £3 million (about $4 million) "International Peace Fund" to support grassroots peacebuilding between Israelis and Palestinians.
The initiative, announced ahead of a meeting at Chevening in Kent, is designed to tackle the underlying drivers of the Israel-Palestine conflict and help create conditions conducive to a two-state solution. Each of the three countries has pledged £1 million, and organisers say they will seek additional donors once the fund is operational.
The fund will draw on the United Kingdom's experience in Northern Ireland and its ongoing work in the Western Balkans. It will prioritise community projects, youth programmes and civil society organisations that build dialogue, reconciliation and trust across divided communities.
Yvette Cooper, UK Foreign Secretary: "The fund will support those working tirelessly to foster understanding between Israeli and Palestinian communities. When generations have grown up with cycles of conflict and violence, we must back the local organisations building dialogue, peace and trust."
Cooper is expected to formally unveil the fund during talks with her Australian and Canadian counterparts, Penny Wong and Anita Anand, at Chevening. No beneficiary organisations have yet been selected; details on application criteria and governance structures are expected once the fund reaches full operational status.
Broader Agenda At Chevening
Delegates will also discuss wider Middle East developments during the meeting, including concerns about Iran's reported blockage of the Strait of Hormuz and the safety of Jewish communities following a rise in antisemitic incidents in the UK, Canada and Australia in the past year.
Separately, the three nations — along with France and Norway — recently announced sanctions targeting illegal settlers in the West Bank in response to violence against Palestinians.
What To Watch Next: Watch for the fund's governance framework, grant criteria and first round of beneficiaries, which will indicate how the initiative intends to support locally led peacebuilding efforts.
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