A new $3 million project to help rehabilitate Palestinian farmlands was announced today in conjunction with a United Nations-backed international forum meeting in Beirut to address the damaging effects of the Israeli occupation. The Executive Secretary of the UN Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA), Mervat Tallawy, said the new initiative will be carried out by the Iitilaf Al-Kheir association. Her comments came during a press conference where the Islamic Development Bank, working in cooperation with the Palestinian Authority, also announced a new Gaza Initiative - with a starting fund of $26 million - aimed at providing direct assistance to the Palestinian people. Read more about Palestinian development forum initiates aid projects for Gaza 

With Palestinians’ living conditions deteriorating drastically, hundreds of experts gathered at the United Nations headquarters in Beirut today to kick off a four-day meeting aimed at generating long-term solutions to their plight. Officially called “The Arab International Forum on Rehabilitation and Development in the Occupied Palestinian Territory: Towards an Independent State,” the unprecedented event aimed at helping to build a secure, sustainable and sovereign Palestine. Organized by the UN Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA), the Arab League and the PA, the meeting drew more than 700 participants, including senior officials from across the region. Read more about Experts urge Arab-international partnership to help Palestinians