Overview
- The three governments announced the International Peace Fund and each pledged initial seed funding equivalent to £1 million to launch the initiative, a move unveiled at Chevening on Thursday.
- The fund will channel grants to vetted Israeli and Palestinian civil society organisations that run youth, women, dialogue and joint-service programmes designed to rebuild relationships and prepare communities for future negotiations.
- Leaders framed the fund as complementary to recent coordinated sanctions on networks linked to West Bank settler violence and to humanitarian efforts, with Canada also pledging CAD$100 million for aid and roughly $1.8 million to the fund.
- Officials and campaigners warned the Fund’s near-term impact is limited because its start-up resources are small, key operational rules and vetting procedures are not yet published, and the Israeli government opposes a sovereign Palestinian state.
- The announcement builds on a long ALLMEP campaign and on the US MEPPA precedent from 2020, and its success will depend on recruiting more donors, scaling grants, and whether grassroots peace projects can expand services that improve daily security, livelihoods and community ties.