UK MP urges investigation into 32 charities for donating £28m to Israeli settlements

British MP Melanie Ward has formally asked the Charity Commission to investigate 32 UK charities that have collectively donated at least £28 million to projects within Israeli settlements in the West Bank. Ward, formerly the chief executive of Medical Aid for Palestinians, argues that such funding constitutes extremist activity, not charitable work.

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Funding illegal Israeli settlements is not charitable activity. It is extremist activity.

She further highlighted that if these donations claimed gift aid, UK taxpayers may have inadvertently subsidized these settlements by approximately £5 million. Prime Minister Keir Starmer echoed these concerns during Prime Minister's Question Time, stating that settlements are a "flagrant breach of international law" and that no UK charity should support them. He confirmed that the Middle East minister had engaged with the Charity Commission on the matter.

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settlements are a flagrant breach of international law, and no UK charity should be supporting them.

The complaint cites specific examples, including the Kasner Charitable Trust's donation of about £5.7 million to a West Bank high school and UK Toremet's £38,479 contribution to Regavim, an NGO recently sanctioned by the UK. This action follows coordinated sanctions imposed by multiple countries, including the UK, Australia, Canada, France, Norway, and New Zealand, on individuals and entities accused of abuses against Palestinian civilians and settler violence in the West Bank.

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British businesses should have no involvement with illegal settlements.