Key facts
- At least 32 charities in England and Wales have donated £28 million to Israeli settlements.
- Gift aid could mean UK taxpayers subsidized illegal settlements by £5.6 million.
- The Charity Commission is investigating UK charities' links to settlements.
- Donations were made to groups including Kasner Charitable Trust and UK Toremet.
- UK Toremet processed donations for groups like Regavim, which the EU has sanctioned.
Thirty-two charities operating in England and Wales have collectively donated at least £28 million to Israeli settlements that are considered illegal under international law, according to Labour MP Melanie Ward. Ward, a former chief executive of Medical Aid for Palestinians, detailed these activities in a letter to the Charity Commission, urging an investigation and potential removal of these organizations from the charity register.
Ward highlighted that if gift aid were claimed on these donations, UK taxpayers could have subsidized the illegal settlements by approximately £5.6 million. She described this situation as "deplorable" and argued that supporting the expansion of Israeli settlements impedes peace and risks being used in breaches of international law.
Among the named charities are the Kasner Charitable Trust (KCT) and UK Toremet. Documents examined by researchers indicate KCT has donated to a yeshiva in Hebron, while UK Toremet, which acts as a conduit for donations via the Jgive platform, gave £38,479 in 2022 to Regavim, an organization that supports the demolition of Palestinian homes and has faced EU sanctions. UK Toremet stated that Regavim was a recipient for a project within Israel's pre-1967 borders and is no longer an approved recipient.
KCT has previously stated its donations were for educational purposes and had been cleared by the commission. A spokesperson for UK Toremet asserted that the Charity Commission found it compliant with the law and that it conducts due diligence on all processed payments.
A spokesperson for the Charity Commission acknowledged the "serious matters" raised by Ward and confirmed they are actively considering the legal and compliance issues related to charities operating in Palestine, recognizing the complexity and contentious nature of the issue.