Paris conference pledges $7.4B in Palestinian aid

Representatives from more than 90 countries and international organizations pledged $7.4 billion over the next three years to help revive the Palestinian economy.

Palestinian vendors sell flowers and winter accessories at the Hawara Israeli military checkpoint near the West Bank city of Nablus on Monday.
(Nasser Ishtayeh/Associated Press)

At the Paris conference on Monday, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said the increasingly isolated Gaza Strip is "headed for disaster" without international aid.

During his address to delegates, Abbas also said he has ruled out dialogue with rival Islamic militant group Hamas, which took control of Gaza by force from Abbas's Fatah forces in June and has repeatedly called for the reformation of a unity government with Abbas.

Since then, the already deeply impoverished 1.5 million residents of Gaza have been virtually cut off from the world as Israel and Egypt sharply restricted border access.

Abbas also called on Israel to freeze all settlements in the West Bank and pledged he will honour his commitments to the agreement he reached with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert at a U.S.-sponsored summit in Annapolis, Md., last month.

The two leaders pledged to work toward the creation of a peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians by the end of 2008, but the process has been tested by continued violence in Gaza, daily militant rocket attacks on Israeli towns from the territory, as well as Israel's plans to build more than 300 homes in a contested area of East Jerusalem.

"I'll be eager to implement all our commitments under the road map and I expect the Israeli side to do the same comprehensively and without excuses by us or by them," Abbas said Monday. "I expect them to stop all settlement activities without exceptions."

Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad had been looking for $5.6 billion over three years to help stabilize the beleaguered economies of the West Bank and Gaza, with Abbas telling delegates the situation in the latter territory was "close to catastrophe."

Meanwhile, Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni said Israel is committed to the creation of a Palestinian state and praised the three-year Palestinian reform plan as a "serious effort" toward that goal.

"We need you to know that Palestinian welfare and Israeli security are not mutually exclusive interests," Livni told the delegates.

$7.4B pledge 'sign of solidarity on the Palestinian question'

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon urged the international community to fulfil the Palestinian needs and more — and they did, with the $7.4 billion pledge.

"The real winner today is the Palestinian state," French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said at a news conference following the conference. "We wanted $5.6 billion, we have $7.4 billion — not bad." Kouchner said the pledges include $3.4 billion for 2008.

"Our feeling is great, this is generous," Palestinian Planning Minister Samir Abdullah told the Associated Press. "It is a vote of confidence for the program, and a sign of solidarity on the Palestinian question."   

Attending the conference, Foreign Affairs Minister Maxime Bernier said Monday that Canada would provide $300 million over the next five years.

The money will go toward reforming the Palestinian security system, institution-building in the Palestinian Authority and working to stimulate the economy through the private sector, Bernier said.

"Our funding is not unconditional," Bernier said in a release. "We will need to see demonstrable progress in negotiations by both sides, as well as progress in Palestinian democratic reforms. As the peace process moves forward, Canada will be there."

The European Union launched the day of pledges of aid by promising $650 million in 2008.

"What we must do now is work together before the end of 2008 for the creation of an independent, democratic, viable Palestinian state," French President Nicolas Sarkozy, the meeting's host, said in a speech to representatives.

The United States is pledging about $555 million for next year.

In 2007, the European Union initially pledged $245 million, but ended up contributing $798 million for that year because of deepening poverty in the Palestinian territories.

In all, the EU and its member states gave about $1.45 billion to the Palestinians in 2007. The figure includes not just aid to the Palestinian government, but also contributions to international agencies that assist the Palestinians.

Economists have said it's not enough for the donors to pledge aid and for the Palestinians to carry out reforms. The Palestinian economy will only recover, according to the World Bank, if Israel eases sweeping physical and administrative restrictions on movement in the West Bank and Gaza.

Israel has been reluctant to do so, putting security first. The Israeli military considers roadblocks key to preventing attacks on Israelis by Palestinian militants.

With files from the Associated Press