The pledges were made at a conference in Paris on 17 December, which brought together representatives of almost 90 countries and international organisations.

The amount exceeded the Palestinian Authority’s request for $5.6bn over three years. The International Monetary Fund has agreed to monitor Palestinian spending of the new funds.

The talks were facilitated by Tony Blair, the former UK prime minister and now Middle East envoy for the quartet of the UN, US, EU and Russia. Blair emphasised that the money granted to the Palestinians needed to be repaid with tangible progress in the peace process restarted in Annapolis, Maryland, earlier this month.

“Over the next few months, we have to show people our capability of making the difference on the ground,” he said.

Palestinian confidence in the process has already been eroded by Israeli plans to expand illegal settlements in the West Bank.