Cairo and Ramallah discussed on Saturday the ongoing preparations to rally international support for the Palestinian Authority during the upcoming International Donor Conference next week.

These consultations coincided with Egyptian-European talks aimed at 'creating international support that backs the Palestinian Authority not only financially, but also in consolidating the existence of a future independent Palestinian state, despite the ongoing Israeli escalation,' according to member of the Egyptian Council for Foreign Affairs, former assistant foreign minister, Ambassador Mohamed Hegazy, in an interview with Asharq Al-Awsat.

Egypt's Foreign Ministry reported on Saturday that a phone call took place between Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty and Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa, during which the two sides exchanged views on developments in the Gaza Strip. The call also discussed the ongoing preparations for the donor countries conference scheduled to be held in Brussels this July.

Abdelatty affirmed 'Egypt's full support for the Palestinian government and the importance of mobilizing international financial support for the Palestinian National Authority to enable it to fulfill its responsibilities, provide basic services to the Palestinian people, contribute to strengthening their steadfastness, and support stability in the Palestinian territories.'

Hegazy believes that 'the preparations for the Brussels meeting to rally international support for the Palestinian Authority come at a pivotal moment in Middle East developments, where the tracks of the ceasefire in Gaza, US efforts to launch new security and regional arrangements, and Arab endeavors to restore the Palestinian cause as the real gateway to regional stability intersect.'

He stresses that reducing the donor conference to merely an occasion to provide financial aid to the Palestinian Authority strips it of much of its strategic significance, noting that the importance of the Brussels conference goes beyond funding, making it a clear political message that the international community still views the Palestinian Authority as the legitimate institution capable of managing the Palestinian territories, as opposed to a parallel message to Israel that weakening the Palestinian Authority is no longer an acceptable option.

About a week ago, the spokesperson for the European Union in Jerusalem, Shadi Othman, told Voice of Palestine radio about the start of preparations for the International Donor Conference on July 12, with the aim of rallying support for the two-state solution and providing financial backing to the Palestinian Authority.

These remarks came a day after the European Commissioner for Mediterranean Affairs, Dubravka Šuica, visited Ramallah as part of a regional tour to discuss the European-Palestinian partnership and the current situation in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.

A girl rests on a rope securing a tent in a temporary camp for displaced Palestinians in the Al-Bared area of Khan Younis (AFP).

At the time, the Palestinian Prime Minister stressed to Šuica that 'the financial and economic siege poses a serious threat to the ability of Palestinian institutions to continue, as Israel continues to illegally withhold Palestinian tax revenues, amounting to about $6 billion, in addition to freezing about another $5 billion of Palestinian bank funds that the Israeli central bank refuses to accept, costing the Palestinian economy a loss of up to $11 billion annually.'

The Palestinian issue was on the table during political consultations between Egypt's Foreign Minister and European Commissioner for the Mediterranean, Dubravka Šuica, according to a statement by the Egyptian Foreign Ministry on Saturday.

Abdelatty stressed 'the importance of refocusing international efforts on the Palestinian issue, to pave the way for the full implementation of the requirements of the first phase of US President Donald Trump's peace plan - which began in October 2023 - and moving to the second phase.'

Meanwhile, Hegazy believes that the Egyptian and European moves confirm that supporting the Palestinian Authority has become part of the equation for rebuilding the region, not merely a response to a financial crisis, given that a more stable Middle East cannot be discussed while Palestinian institutions collapse, and long-term economic and security alliances cannot be built while the Gaza Strip remains devastated.

The Egyptian role stands out as the most consistent with the demands of the current phase. Since the outbreak of the war, Cairo has rejected separating the humanitarian track from the political track. It has affirmed that a ceasefire must be coupled with a reconstruction plan, empowering the Palestinian Authority, preserving the unity of the West Bank and Gaza Strip, rejecting displacement, and launching a serious political process leading to the establishment of an independent Palestinian state. Today, Egypt is moving in the same direction by supporting the Brussels conference as a foundational step paving the way for a larger international conference to rebuild Gaza as soon as the ceasefire is solidified, according to Hegazy.

The member of the Egyptian Council for Foreign Affairs stressed that the real challenge lies not in raising billions of dollars, but in building an international will that transforms these resources into a historic opportunity to relaunch the Palestinian national project, revive the two-state solution, and reintegrate the Palestinian cause into the core of new regional security arrangements.

He explained that the upcoming conference will either be the start of a transition from 'conflict management' to 'peacebuilding,' from 'temporary relief' to 'sustainable development,' and from reactions to an integrated strategic vision, or it will remain just a fleeting financial stop in the series of recurring crises.