CHARITY COMMISSION INVESTIGATES UK DONATIONS TO ILLEGAL SETTLEMENTS

The Charity Commission has launched an investigation into British charities donating funds to illegal Israeli settlements in Palestine. The regulator will examine eight unnamed charities to establish the amount of charitable funds involved, how the money was used and whether such spending aligns with charitable purposes. Stephen Roake, assistant director of high-risk compliance at the Charity Commission, said the probe would determine whether regulatory action was necessary. The investigation follows a formal complaint submitted by Labour MP Melanie Ward, who alleged that 32 charities in England and Wales had donated at least £28m to Israeli settlements deemed illegal under international law.

One report detailed that two UK charities had transferred approximately £5.7m to the Bnei Akiva Yeshiva secondary school in Susya, in Israeli-occupied territory. A London synagogue event advertising properties in illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank and occupied East Jerusalem also prompted the formal complaint that triggered the investigation. In June, then foreign secretary Yvette Cooper told parliament that charity systems were being "abused to funnel support to illegal settlements" and called for the regulator to investigate. Cooper expressed concern about UK gift aid being diverted to illegal settlements, saying evidence suggested rules were being broken.

The Commission has opened more than 200 regulatory cases related to Gaza since October 2023, involving charities with differing positions on the conflict. Roake said the fact-finding exercise would help develop regulatory guidance to ensure public trust in charities. Ward and 140 Labour colleagues indicated they wanted to see a ban on such donations rather than an inquiry alone. The regulator previously declared it unlawful for British charities to raise funds or send money to soldiers in the Israeli army.