Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the viability of an International Peace Fund for Israel and Palestine; and what contribution the UK will make to it.

It was announced on 9 December that the UK will host a key peacebuilding conference on 12 March next year, bringing together international experts 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.