Donor group welcomes plan to establish Palestinian state

The donor group for the Palestinian Authority (AHLC) welcomes the political program of the Palestinian government for establishing a Palestinian state within the next two years. This plan will be an important platform for donor coordination with Palestinian authorities aimed at sustainable economic development and building the institutions of the future Palestinian state. 

The AHLC meeting in New York between major donor countries and their Palestinian and Israeli partners took place in parallel with yesterday’s meetings between President Obama, his Palestinian counterpart and the prime minister of Israel. 

– The mission of the AHLC is directly linked to the efforts to bring the peace process to its rightful conclusion by backing up the quest for a two-state solution, said the Norwegian Foreign Minister and chairman of the AHLC, Jonas Gahr Støre. 

Yesterday’s meeting of the AHLC took place amidst reported improvements in the economic situation in the West Bank, resulting from large-scale donor contributions, reforms enacted by Palestinian authorities, and Israeli steps to ease restrictions on access and movement for the Palestinian population.

Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Støre underlined the need for these Israeli measures to be accelerated and extended, and in particular called for the reopening of the crossings to Gaza. 

- If we leave Gaza to its own devices and fail to take appropriate action, the only local growth sectors will be tunnel trafficking and militant radicalism, said Støre.