Cairo and Ramallah on Saturday discussed preparations for mobilizing international support for the Palestinian Authority at the upcoming international donor conference next week.

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

The Egyptian Foreign Ministry reported on Saturday that Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty and Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammed Mustafa held a phone call, exchanging views on developments in the Gaza Strip. The call also covered preparations for the donor conference scheduled to be held in Brussels in 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 resilience, and support stability in the Palestinian territories.'

Hegazy believes that 'the preparations for the Brussels meeting to mobilize international support for the Palestinian Authority come at a pivotal moment in Middle East developments, where the tracks of a 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 are intertwined.'

He stresses that reducing the donor conference to an opportunity 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. It becomes a clear political message that the international community still sees the Palestinian Authority as the legitimate institution capable of managing the Palestinian territories, alongside a parallel message to Israel that weakening the Palestinian Authority is no longer an acceptable option.

About a week ago, the European Union spokesperson in Jerusalem, Shadi Othman, told Voice of Palestine radio that preparations have begun for the international donor conference on July 12, aimed at mobilizing support for the two-state solution and financial backing for the National Authority.

Those statements came on the heels of a visit by European Commissioner for the Mediterranean, Dubravka Šuica, to 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 Nahr al-Bared area of Khan Younis (AFP).

The Palestinian Prime Minister at the time 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 up to $11 billion annually.'

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

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

Meanwhile, Hegazy believes that Egyptian and European moves confirm that support for the Palestinian Authority has become part of the equation for rebuilding the region, not just a response to a financial crisis, given that one cannot speak of a more stable Middle East while Palestinian institutions collapse, nor can long-term economic and security alliances be built while the Gaza Strip remains devastated.

The Egyptian role stands out as the most consistent with the requirements of the stage. Since the outbreak of the war, Cairo has refused to separate the humanitarian track from the political track. It has stressed 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 moves in the same direction by supporting the Brussels conference as a foundational step paving the way for a larger international conference to rebuild Gaza once the ceasefire is consolidated, according to Hegazy.

The member of the Egyptian Council for Foreign Affairs stressed that the real challenge is not in raising billions of dollars, but in building an international will that turns 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 transient financial station in the series of recurring crises.