Full Breakdown
UK Charities Under Investigation for Funding Israeli Settlements
6/12/2026, 2:25:19 AM
Core Complaint
Labour MP Melanie Ward filed a complaint with the Charity Commission alleging thirty-two charities in England and Wales donated at least £28 million to projects in Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank. She warns Gift Aid claims would have subsidised the settlements by about £5.6 million. Named charities include Kasner Charitable Trust, which gave £5.7 million to the Bnei Akiva Yeshiva high school in Susya and funded a yeshiva in Hebron, and UK Toremet, which transferred £38,479 to Regavim, an EU-sanctioned pro-settler group.
Responses & Gaps
Official Statements & Legal Context
PM Keir Starmer called settlements a flagrant breach of international law and said no UK charity should support them; Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper urged an investigation, adding charities must not enable such breaches. Charity Commission said it is “carefully considering” concerns and will work with Foreign Office on guidance. UK Toremet says its grants meet English public-benefit test and that Regavim payment was for a pre-1967 project; Kasner Charitable Trust maintains its donations were cleared for education. These positions echo UN, UK governments, International Court of Justice and International Criminal Court, which view settlements as a breach of Geneva Conventions and an obstacle to a two-state solution.
Conflicting Reports & Gaps
Charities dispute regulator’s role and legality of the donations. Charity Commission does not administer Gift Aid and cannot investigate criminal breaches, leaving £5.6 million subsidy claim unresolved. UK Toremet says Regavim is no longer an approved recipient, while Ward’s evidence links payment to settlement activity. Kasner’s claim of regulator clearance remains unverified. Palestinian-American farmer Yaser Alkam, attacked by settlers while harvesting olives, says donations to outposts and settlements directly affect Palestinians and enable ongoing crimes.
Verbatim Quotes
- “Funding illegal Israeli settlements is not charitable activity. It is extremist activity,” — Melanie Ward, Labour MP
- “settlements are a flagrant breach of international law, and no UK charity should be supporting them.” — Keir Starmer, Prime Minister
- “because no UK charity should be supporting or enabling these breaches of international law” — Yvette Cooper, Foreign Secretary
- “Yaser Alkam, a Palestinian-American who lives in the occupied West Bank village of Turmus Ayya, and who was attacked by settlers last year while trying to harvest his olives, said: “Donating to these outposts and to these settlements is directly affecting Palestinians, the owners of the land in these areas.” — Yaser Alkam, Palestinian-American farmer
- “A spokesperson for the regulator said: “We share with government a concern about the potential impact, including on public trust and confidence, of registered charities being seen to actively assist in the development or expansion of illegal settlements in Palestine.” — Charity Commission spokesperson
Next Steps
Charity Commission will draft guidance with Foreign Office on charitable work in occupied territories and enforce it. A meeting between Middle East Minister Hamish Falconer and Commission chief David Holdsworth will set investigation’s scope, and regulator may remove charities that breach guidance.
