ICJP urges investigation into UK charity over support for illegal Israeli settlement
Middle East Eye reports on 16 September 2026:
The International Centre of Justice for Palestinians (ICJP) has urged the British Charity Commission to investigate a UK-registered charity over its support for an illegal Israeli settlement in the occupied West Bank.
The legal group said it had submitted a formal complaint regarding the Gainsborough Trust’s publicly listed objectives, which include “to collect and distribute funding… to benefit inhabitants of Modiin Illit, Israel and the surrounding areas”.
Pointing to Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband’s announcement that the UK government considers the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories to be illegal, the ICJP urged the Charity Commission to investigate “and make a determination on whether a charity registered in England may lawfully define the inhabitants of an illegal Israeli settlement in the oPt as its ‘beneficiaries’”.
It added that the Commission “must also consider whether the trustees have properly discharged their duties in administering the charity and collecting and distributing funds for its benefit”. Under UK law, funds raised by registered charities must be used for charitable purposes or for public benefit.
On Wednesday, a Declassified investigation revealed that the Gainsborough Trust is among six British charities that appear to have funnelled nearly £2m to illegal Israeli settlements over the last three years. According to the report, the Trust registered an income of over £448,000 between 2021 and 2025.
While the amount of money that went to Modiin Illit is unclear, as its annual reports do not name recipients, they state that around £120,000 went to institutions identified as “higher education”, and £70,000 to institutions labelled as “basic education of Jewish principles”.