Palestinians hit jackpot

Blair said the Palestinian aid package would total USD 3 billion “in the years to come.” The British leader added the assistance was designed “so that two states, Israel and Palestine, two peoples and two religions can live side by side in peace.”

Meanwhile, Palestinian officials welcomed the aid package but said the money must be disbursed quickly to help rebuild the Gaza Strip after the upcoming Israeli pullout.

Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat and Palestinian Finance Minister Salam Fayyad said the economic support must be accompanied by a push from the international community to restart negotiations on a final peace deal.

On another front, G8 leaders said they would more than double aid to Africa by 2010, boosting it by about USD 25 billion a year to help lift the continent out of poverty. The leaders also pledged that they and other donors would increase total aid for all developing countries by about USD 50 billion a year by 2010.

Leaders pledge to boost counter-terror cooperation

In the wake of Thursday's terror offensive in London, leaders of the Group of Eight industralized nations issued a declaration pledging greater cooperation to protect railway and subways from terrorist attack.

"We will work to improve the sharing of information on the movement of terrorists across international borders, to assess and address the threat to the transportation infrastructure and to promote best practices for rail and metro security," the declaration said.

"As G-8 leaders, we pledge the sustained commitment required to identify and reduce the terrorist threat, to promote freedom and security, to protect democracy and to ensure the rule of law."

The declaration said the G-8 leaders were "United in condemning in the strongest terms the terrorist attacks in London."

"We will respond resolutely, together and severally, to this global challenge and work to bring terrorists to

justice wherever they are," the leaders said.