UK, Australia, Canada launch $4m peace fund for Israel-Palestine conflict

What Happened

On Thursday, the United Kingdom, Australia, and Canada announced a joint peace fund, each contributing £1 million ($1.34 million), totaling £3 million ($4.02 million), to support grassroots projects advocating for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The fund, announced by UK Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper ahead of a meeting with Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong and Canadian Foreign Minister Anita Anand, will focus on local community organisations, including youth groups, civil society bodies, and women’s initiatives. It aims to provide humanitarian support to Palestinians, address 'violent' Israeli settlers, and back US President Donald Trump’s 20-point Gaza peace plan. The initiative follows coordinated sanctions announced earlier this week by the UK, Australia, Canada, France, New Zealand, and Norway against networks financing and perpetrating Israeli settler violence in the occupied West Bank. Cooper stated that a negotiated two-state solution remains the only viable route to a just and lasting peace.

Key Actors

Why It Matters

The fund represents a tangible Western diplomatic and financial commitment to advancing a two-state solution amid ongoing war in Gaza and escalating settler violence in the West Bank. It supplements recent sanctions by six nations against settler violence networks, signalling a dual-track approach of accountability and grassroots peace support. By aligning with Trump’s Gaza plan, the initiative navigates shifting international peace frameworks, potentially influencing multilateral diplomacy and pressuring Israel on settlement expansion. The involvement of three major Commonwealth countries underscores a coordinated effort to address root causes of the conflict through civil society engagement.

Watch For

Implementation details of funded projects and any scaling up with additional donors. Israeli government and settler organisation reactions, particularly regarding the fund's aim to curb settler violence. Palestinian Authority and Hamas responses to the fund’s support for Trump’s plan versus broader peace process demands. Further coordinated actions by the six-country sanctions coalition, and outcomes of the Cooper–Wong–Anand meeting that may shape future joint diplomacy.