- Foreign Secretary to host Israeli and Palestinian civil
society leaders in March next year to focus on delivering
sustainable peace
- Meeting at Lancaster House will support the establishment of
an International Peace Fund for Israel and Palestine
- UK to use peacebuilding expertise from Northern Ireland and
ongoing Western Balkans work to support Middle East efforts
The UK will host a key peacebuilding conference on 12 March next
year to help establish an International Peace Fund for Israel and
Palestine.
The conference at Lancaster House will bring together civil
society leaders from across the region and delivers on the Prime
Minister's pledge to host the event and set up a fund which can
provide the long-term finance that is required for peacebuilding
efforts to deliver genuine change.
October's US-led ceasefire agreement – and President Trump's
20-Point Plan – have presented a critical opportunity to achieve
lasting peace and security in the Middle East. All living
hostages have since been released and the UK continues to push
for the remaining deceased hostage to be returned. Gradually,
more aid is getting into Gaza but much more needs to be done and
the UK is pressing for all restrictions to be lifted so that
humanitarian supplies can be delivered at the pace and volume
required, especially with winter drawing in.
Civil society organisations in Israel and Palestine have a vital
role to play in reinforcing the forward momentum of recent
months. Over the past year, the UK has been working with partners
on the ground and internationally to ensure that civil society
groups are ready to take the lead in advancing long-term
stability, and driving progress towards a two-state solution,
with peace and security for Israelis and Palestinians
alike.
Foreign Secretary said:
After two years of the most horrendous suffering, the US-led
ceasefire agreement has now been in place for two months. But it
remains highly fragile, and there is still a long journey ahead
to implement the 20-point plan endorsed by the United Nations,
and achieve a just and lasting peace.
This conference will be a crucial step in that journey, bringing
together representatives of Palestinian and Israeli civil society
to build common ground between their communities, challenge
entrenched divisions, and work towards a future where both states
can live side-by-side in peace and security.
With the UK's experience of the reconciliation process in
Northern Ireland and our ongoing support for peacebuilding in
Western Balkans, we are well placed to host and facilitate these
talks, and the new International Peace Fund we are helping to
create will provide the practical support to drive this work
forward.
The UK- hosted meeting will bring together international
peacebuilding expertise and civil society organisations from the
Middle East, to map existing peace-building work and support the
establishment of an International Peace Fund for Israel and
Palestine.
Discussions will focus on the practical steps that the Peace Fund
can best support, and the best practice that can be learned from
other similar initiatives, including the International Fund for
Ireland that helped support dialogue and reconciliation between
unionist and nationalist communities more than a decade before
the Good Friday Agreement. The fund will support activities that
bring Israelis and Palestinians together to reduce violence,
build trust, and create the conditions for a lasting and just
peace.
