An international meeting of donors in Stockholm, Sweden has seen US$500 million (£262m) promised in aid for the Palestinian region.

|PIC1|UN aid chief Jan Egeland, has warned that lack of aid had made Gaza a "time bomb", but following the pledges he warmly welcomed the news, but said a new peace process with Israel was vital.

On Thursday, donors pledged US$940m of help to rebuild Lebanon. But in comparison, donations for the Palestinian territories have been significantly less.

Mr Egeland had earlier told the conference that the Palestinians needed at least as much aid and money as the Lebanese.

This year the US and EU stopped aid to Palestine because of Hamas' refusal to renounce violence and recognise Israel. A limited amount was later re-commenced, but aid workers say it is not enough.

Swedish Aid Minister Carin Jamtin, the conference's host, praised the donors' pledges as "a fantastic result".

She explained that US$55m of the funds would go towards the UN's emergency appeal which was launched last year, although it has struggled to meet its target.

|AD|A total of US$114m is scheduled to be spent on humanitarian aid, with the rest going towards the rebuilding of infrastructure and other projects, she told.

Ms Jamtin was quoted as saying that many Arab countries would channel their donations not via the UN but through the Arab League or directly to the Hamas-led Palestinian authorities, according to AP.

She said, “The benefit of giving to the UN is that then we have a system for distributing the money.”

Mr Egeland said, “I hope that this conference here could represent some kind of a rock bottom for how deep we could sink in despair for the Palestinian territories and that we now move forward.”

He had told those attending the meeting that 1.4 million Palestinians were “living in a cage” with border crossings closed and electricity and water shortages.

He added, “It's not only a question of more money... it's also a question of third parties going in and mediating a solution between the Palestinians and the Israelis.”

Israel has been carrying out military operations in the Gaza Strip since Palestinian militants captured an Israeli soldier in June 2006.

One aid worker who returned from Gaza 10 days ago warned in Stockholm that malnutrition was extensive.

In addition, unemployment is high, and in Gaza, the UN says nearly 80 percent of people live in poverty.