The European Commission on Monday announced the launch of a joint initiative with 15 partners to provide €883.6 million (about $1 billion) in assistance to support recovery efforts in the Gaza Strip.
Jared Kushner, White House adviser and US President Donald Trump's son-in-law, is understood to have joined the meeting by telephone – in a move that highlights co-ordination between Brussels and the US on Gaza despite disagreements. Mr Kushner is a member of the Board of Peace's executive board.
“Heartwarming to see the success of our second Palestine Donor Group meeting today, with 65 participating countries and institutions,” said European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
Dubravka Suica, the EU Commissioner for the Mediterranean, said the Team Gaza Initiative brought together EU member states and international partners with the goal to support early recovery “in a co-ordinated way”.
The initiative brings together the UK, France, Spain, Denmark, Germany, Norway, Finland, Italy, the Netherlands, Japan, Switzerland, Sweden and Belgium, as well as the World Bank and the European Investment Bank.
It intends to co-ordinate early recovery projects in Gaza to address the restoration of basic services for the population. This would include water and sanitation infrastructure, the removal of debris, and restoration of health, energy, agriculture and food systems.
“Palestinians in Gaza need to be able to rebuild their lives and their communities,” UK Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said. “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 UK separately announced a £10 million ($13.4 million) donation to the UN Horizon Fund, which is enabling a Palestinian-led, UN-co-ordinated approach to early recovery working alongside key European and international partners.
Reforms
Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa was invited to brief European officials on reforms. Historically, one of the key demands from the West and Israel includes an end to the so-called “pay for slay” system of payments to the families of Palestinians imprisoned or killed by Israeli forces. It was scrapped by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in February.
The EU earlier this year launched its own audit to check this system had ended – and should be completed by the end of the summer. A separate audit by US firm Alvarez and Marsal has taken place but its results have not been released. Israeli officials allege payments continue through other means.
The EU reform matrix also includes fiscal reforms, including VAT that entered into force in 2025; good governance, including the announcement of presidential elections next year; an improved business climate and the start of a digital transition.
Responding to a question from The National, Mr Mustafa said he was “very proud” of the reforms conducted by the PA. The Alvarez and Marsal audit was “positive,” he said. He rejected the term “pay for slay”, which he said was “not correct”. He described it as a “social care system” to provide for families in need with payments made in a “very transparent way” and based on “actual needs”.
“This chapter, unfortunately, was used against Palestinian people and their struggle over the years in a very unfortunate way,” Mr Mustafa said. “But we're pleased that this is behind us now. I hope that everybody now focuses more on the occupation and what they do and what they are causing in suffering to our people, instead of what we do to support our families and our citizens.”
Also present at the Palestine Donor Group meeting was Board of Peace director, Nickolay Mladenov, and National Committee for the Administration of Gaza Chief Commissioner, Ali Shaath. The committee is supposed to administer the enclave but remains in Egypt for now as fighting continues despite a ceasefire brokered in October.
Their presence ensures “co-ordination and complementarity in our action,” Ms Suica said. The EU has reserves about the fact that the Board of Peace appears to aim to address issues outside of Gaza and that its governance is subordinated to US President Donald Trump.
“We have some doubts about the global scale of the Board of Peace, but it doesn't stop us from engaging with the structures that are related to Gaza,” a senior EU official said ahead of the meeting.
Additionally, donors in Brussels raised €41.7 million for a special EU mechanism to channel funds to the Palestinian Authority, which is threatened by bankruptcy as its revenue remain blocked by the Israeli government. This comes in addition to an European Commission pledge of €310 million. The EU is the biggest financial donor to the PA.
