Islamic Relief Worldwide has announced that it has been cleared of any links to terrorism in the West Bank by an independent investigation it commissioned.
In June, the Israeli government accused Britain’s largest Muslim charity of donating funds to Hamas, saying it had an “unauthorised association” with the political party in the West Bank and barring Islamic Relief from entering the country.
The charity, which supplies food, education and healthcare to 40 countries, always denied the allegations, which were later repeated by the United Arab Emirates.
The investigation, initiated by Islamic Relief, reported that “there is absolutely no evidence of any links with terrorism,” and that “no money gets into the wrong hands”.
The Birmingham-based charity, which refused to accept money raised by the Disasters Emergency Committee’s (DEC) Gaza appeal until the investigation had been completed, did not identify the firm that carried out the report.
Due to “sensitivities in the region”, the investigating organisation is named only as a leading global audit firm.
The Israeli Defence Ministry and the Israeli embassy in London have not commented on the report.
The DEC, which was sent a copy of the investigation’s findings, said: “We are satisfied that Islamic Relief has robust systems in place to ensure aid money is properly accounted for and spent appropriately.
“The DEC is not aware of any evidence that Islamic Relief has used aid funds inappropriately in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories.”
A statement on Islamic Relief’s website emphasised that the charity “abhors terrorism in all its forms. We are an impartial, independent, purely humanitarian organisation whose sole focus is to alleviate poverty and suffering”.
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