$242 million pledged at Palestinian conference
Donors at an international conference in Berlin have pledged more than $200 million for projects to strengthen the Palestinian Authority’s police and legal institutions.
A German official says the commitments of $242 million at the one-day conference Tuesday exceeded expectations. Participants from more than 40 countries had originally hoped to raise at least $184 million to fund such projects as police training and building prisons and courthouses.
International Middle East envoy, Britain’s former Prime Minister Tony Blair told the conference Palestinians need to build a judicial system to help establish the infrastructure for a Palestinian state.
On the sidelines of the conference, the Mideast Quartet of international peace brokers met in the German capital Tuesday to call for calm between Israelis and Palestinians. The group urged both sides to fully respect a cease-fire in the Gaza Strip, hours after reports surfaced of a Palestinian rocket attack on Israel.
The group expressed hope the truce would endure and lead to improved security for Palestinians and Israelis, as well as a return to “normal civilian life” in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip.
The Middle East Quartet groups the United States, Russia, the European Union and the United Nations.