Senior officials from Middle Eastern and European nations met privately in the UK on Monday with major financial institutions to discuss plans for rebuilding Gaza, as Britain sought to quietly advance coordination on postwar recovery efforts.
Far from a high-profile Gaza summit in the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, the UK's foreign ministry quietly brought together Middle East and European officials at an isolated mansion deep in the southern English countryside.
The aim of the three-day conference was to start the "crucial planning and coordination efforts for postwar Gaza" which would be Palestinian-led, the UK prime minister's office said in a statement.
"We must be ready to act, to clear rubble, rebuild homes and set up infrastructure, restoring access to education and healthcare," junior foreign minister Hamish Falconer added in a statement.
"We know the scale of the task. We know how urgent it is, and how complex it will be," he added, highlighting it "will take years and cost billions".
The Israeli assault on Gaza has left much of the Palestinian territory in ruins and most of its population displaced.
The UK government said the talks in Wilton Park, West Sussex, which is managed by the Foreign Office, brought together "representatives from businesses, civil society and governments, to convene crucial planning and coordination efforts for postwar Gaza".
The Palestinian Authority was represented along with officials from countries such as Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Germany and Italy, the UK prime minister's office said.
Officials from the World Bank and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development were also attending to support what Falconer called an Arab Reconstruction Plan.
"We must also lay the groundwork for long-term economic development," Falconer said, insisting that "Gaza and Palestine more broadly, has real economic potential".
The talks aimed to examine how to "unlock the vast resources needed, not just through traditional donor finance, but by thinking creatively to bring in private capital", he said.
The UK was well-placed to help, with "deep expertise in private investment and strong links to the City of London", he added.
