Palestinians 'win $7bn aid vow'

BBC

Foreign aid of at least $7bn (£3.5bn) has been pledged to the Palestinians at a major donors' conference in Paris, France's foreign minister has said.

The figure cited by Bernard Kouchner exceeded the $5.6bn over three years which Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas had asked for.

The pledge by 68 states and organisations came at the biggest such meeting in a decade.

The money is earmarked for creating a viable Palestinian state.

But the package was rejected by Mr Abbas's rivals, Hamas.

The Islamist group, which wrested control of the Gaza Strip from Mr Abbas in June, was not invited to the conference, which it called a "declaration of war" on it.

Two themes dominated the conference, BBC Middle East editor Jeremy Bowen reports from Paris: the need for donors to shore up the Palestinian Authority and the need for Israel to change Palestinian lives for the better.

Our editor notes that attempts to help the 1.4 million Palestinians in the Gaza Strip are still hamstrung by the desire of the donors, Israel and Mr Abbas not to do anything that might assist Hamas......