The Charity Commission has opened a statutory class inquiry into concerns about eight charities working in illegal Israeli settlements in Palestine.
Through its investigation, the regulator will examine whether the organisations’ funds are being used to further charitable purposes, after concerns were raised about multiple UK-registered charities operating in the region.
Its inquiry is “focused on fact-finding” and will initially involve eight unnamed charities, which were prioritised due to the location of their charity partners and how recently alleged activity occurred.
The announcement today comes a month after the regulator received concerns from several Labour MPs, including former Medical Aid for Palestinians chief executive Melanie Ward, who claimed that 32 UK charities had sent £28m to the settlements.
At the time, then-prime minister Keir Starmer said: “Settlements are a flagrant breach of international law, and no UK charity should be supporting them.”
Inquiry details shared with police
The commission said that it will publish a report detailing its findings and regulatory actions taken once stages of the class inquiry have concluded, and will consider naming the charities in the report.
It plans to extend the number of charities under investigation over time to others that appear to expend charitable funds to support, directly or indirectly, activities or projects within illegal Israeli settlements in Palestine.
The commission added that it has shared information about the scope of its inquiry with the police and HMRC.
Stephen Roake, assistant director in high-risk compliance at the commission, said: “All charities must be able to demonstrate that they are delivering on their charitable purposes, wherever in the world they operate and whatever they do.
“Serious allegations have been made about UK charities operating in illegal Israeli settlements in Palestine, so our first step is to establish the facts. Only then can we determine if regulatory action is required, based on our findings and the evidence we see.
“Our fact-finding will also help us develop regulatory guidance for charities, which will help ensure public trust and confidence in charities.”
Opening a class inquiry enables the commission to examine regulatory concerns in greater detail and is not a finding of wrongdoing.
