LONDON: Thirty-two charities in England and Wales have donated at least $37 million to illegal Israeli settlements, an MP with the governing Labour Party has said.
Melanie Ward warned that if gift aid were claimed against the donations as part of the regular UK tax relief scheme, it would mean that British taxpayers had subsidized illegal settlements, The Guardian reported on Wednesday.
Under the charity tax relief scheme, about $7.5 million toward illegal Israeli settlements could have been provided by taxpayers through the charities, a situation Ward described as “deplorable.”
Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper on Tuesday said the Charity Commission had been ordered to investigate British charities’ ties to settlements.
The commission must take action and remove any charitable ties to settlements, Ward, former CEO of Medical Aid for Palestinians, wrote in a letter to the body.
“The existence and growth of Israeli settlements in the state of Palestine is globally recognised as one of the major impediments to peace,” she wrote.
“Any activity which supports the maintenance and the expansion of Israeli settlements — such as that funded by these 32 ‘charities’ — is extremist and not of benefit to the UK public.
“Further, it risks being materially and financially used in pursuance of breaches of international law.”
Ward named two of the charities: Kasner Charitable Trust and UK Toremet. Together, they had donated about $7.6 million to the Bnei Akiva Yeshiva high school in the Israeli-occupied West Bank last year, The Guardian previously reported.
The former had also donated to a yeshiva in the Palestinian city of Hebron, while in 2022 the latter donated tens of thousands of pounds to extremist pro-settler group Regavim.
The group, co-founded by far-right Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, supports the destruction of Palestinian homes and is subject to EU sanctions.
UK Toremet serves as a currency processor for the Jgive platform, through which people can donate to Regavim and other Zionist groups including Shivat Zion Lerigvy Admata, on which the UK imposed sanctions this week.
Ward said the provision of funds toward illegal settlements in Palestine is not charity and fails to comply with British or international law, based on positions taken by the UN, UK and International Court of Justice.
The Charity Commission is carefully considering the “serious matters,” a spokesperson said. “As we have previously confirmed, we are actively considering the wider legal and compliance issues relating to charities operating in Palestine.”
