- UK joins international efforts to mobilise funding and practical delivery in Gaza through EU initiative
- New UK funding for UN-coordinated early recovery activity and reinforcing Palestinian-led efforts
- Foreign Secretary to push for fresh momentum behind the 20-point-plan at Brussels meeting bringing together international partners to support Gaza
New support to help Palestinians in Gaza begin to rebuild their lives will be announced by the UK today, as the Foreign Secretary calls for urgent international action on the 20-point Gaza peace plan.
Speaking at the Palestine Donor Group in Brussels, she will say the humanitarian crisis in Gaza remains desperate, with families still unable to access the shelter, food, medicine and basic services they need because of ongoing Israeli restrictions on vital aid.
To address this, the UK is announcing £10m early support for the UN Horizon Fund which is enabling a Palestinian-led, UN-coordinated approach to early recovery working alongside key European and international partners to support water and sanitation, health, education, housing, debris clearance and explosive ordnance risk reduction. Rebuilding these foundations will be crucial to delivering the two-state solution that is the only way to deliver lasting peace.
The UK will also join the EU-led Team Gaza Initiative, a coalition of international partners designed to mobilise political support, funding and practical delivery for Gaza’s early recovery. The initiative brings together European countries and institutions, alongside allies and aims to support a package worth €750m. The move underscores the UK’s commitment to working closely with European allies to tackle evolving global challenges.
Today’s meeting, co-chaired by the European Union and the Palestinian Authority, brings together international partners to coordinate political, technical and financial support for Palestinians, including support for Gaza’s early recovery and implementation of the 20-Point Plan.
The Foreign Secretary will use her intervention to underline the huge risks to the plan and the need to go further and faster. She will add it is at risk of being completely de-railed if Israeli restrictions on humanitarian aid and vital services are not urgently lifted, and if new international energy is not provided to support the plan.
Since the ceasefire, there has been some improvement in the level of aid entering Gaza, but it still remains insufficient to the level of need, however it is clear that food shortages remain, 1.7 million people are living in overcrowded displacement sites across Gaza, and healthcare faces a worsening crisis with no fully functioning hospitals in the strip. The Foreign Secretary will warn that humanitarian support was supposed to be part of phase one of the peace process and unless it is delivered the rest of the peace plan risks running into the ground. More than 1000 Palestinians in Gaza have been killed since the peace plan was agreed.
Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said
Palestinians in Gaza need to be able to rebuild their lives and their communities. Yet the scale of destruction is devastating, and the pace of support despite all the promises made in the peace plan is still shockingly slow. The scale of continuing Israeli restrictions on humanitarian aid and on basic shelter and healthcare support is deeply destructive and immoral. The international community needs to come together as we did last Autumn to drive pressure for progress before the rest of the peace plan is derailed.
The UK is steadfast in our support for early recovery and and a Palestinian-led reconstruction. Our new support for the UN Horizon Fund and the Team Gaza Initiative will help coordinate international efforts, back practical recovery work on the ground and support Palestinians.
We need to see progress across the board – including making sure the new transitional Palestinian committee can operate properly in Gaza so that Palestine is run by Palestinians, starting the decommissioning of Hamas weapons, and training Palestinian police officers. But humanitarian support was supposed to be part of phase one, and it should never be withheld.
There can be no lasting peace without a credible path to a two-state solution, with a secure Israel alongside a viable, sovereign Palestinian state. The UK will continue to work with the Palestinian Authority, the UN, the EU and regional partners to support that goal.
The Foreign Secretary will also meet Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa to discuss support for Palestinian institutions, early recovery in Gaza and continued international coordination.
The UK will continue to push for new energy behind the peace plan, greater action against trade with illegal settlements, and stronger action against those who are trying to destroy any chance of a two-state solution that is the only way to deliver security, peace and justice for Israelis and Palestinians alike.