Monday, October 13, 2014

Donors offer $5.4bn for Palestinians

International donors have pledged $5.4bn (£3.4bn) for the Palestinians at a conference in Cairo. The total, announced by the Norwegian Foreign Minister, Boerge Brende, exceeded the $4bn (£2.5bn) the Palestinian Authority had asked for. Half the sum would be "dedicated" to work in Gaza, he said, without specifying a use for the other half. At least 100,000 Gazans lost their homes in the 50-day conflict between Israel and Hamas earlier this year. Much of the territory's infrastructure was damaged. Earlier the Palestinian and Egyptian presidents called on Israel to commit to a long-term peace initiative. Mahmoud Abbas and Abdul Fattah al-Sisi urged Israel to give up land seized in the 1967 Middle East war and accept a fair solution for Palestinian refugees in exchange for full recognition. The seven-week Gaza conflict, which ended in a truce on 26 August, killed more than 2,100 Palestinians, most of them civilians, the UN says, along with 67 Israeli soldiers and six civilians in Israel. continue

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