IHRC cautiously welcomes the announcement by the Charity Commission that it has opened investigations into eight charities  for activities related to supporting illegal settlements in Palestine.

The regulatory body for charities in England and Wales said yesterday that it would seek to establish the extent of the use of charitable funds in illegal Israeli settlements in response to multiple allegations from the public.

The decision is a welcome development in view of the fact that concerns over donations for “uncharitable purposes” were first raised by IHRC over 10 years ago.

IHRC first flagged up UK Toremet in 2015 for facilitating the supply of materials to the Israeli military. UK Toremet provides a portal that funnels money to a range of Israel-based organisations, including the Israeli army.

Although the Commission found this allegation to be true and has carried out three separate regulatory compliance cases against UK Toremet’s activities in Palestine, its apparent failure to act robustly has allowed the organisation to carry on undeterred to the point that it openly solicited donations to support the Israeli armed forces in their genocide in Gaza. IHRC submitted a fresh complaint to the watchdog in 2024.

The Charity Commission has not disclosed which charities it will be running the rule over but UK Toremet has been the subject of complaints from several other sources since the start of the genocide in October 2023.

IHRC finds disturbing the Commission’s refusal to reveal the names of the charities under investigation. It is inconsistent with the watchdog’s policy in relation to other charities being investigated which it has identified promptly and publicly. It represents a failure to protect the British public from continuing to give to organisations that are potentially channelling their donations to entities committing war crimes and genocide.

Given the gravity of the allegations we would expect the Charity Commission to take firm, decisive and exemplary action against those charities that have exploited their charity status to indulge in unlawful and even potentially illegal activities.

[ENDS]

For more information or comment please contact the Press Office on (+44) 208 904 0222  or (+44) 7958 522196 or email media@ihrc.org

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IHRC is an NGO in Special Consultative Status with the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations.
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