Britain’s embassy in Israel is one of the financial backers of the human rights group, Breaking the Silence, it was revealed today.

The organisation, whose controversial report on the actions of the IDF during the Gaza conflict in January this year has just been issued, is said to have been given more than £35,000 by the UK, according to the 2008 donors’ list, published by the Jerusalem Post.

Other donors include the Dutch Embassy in Israel, which gave just over £17,000, the New Israel Fund, which gave £36,000, and the European Union, which gave nearly £38,000.

The group’s new 110-page report is based on interviews with 30 soldiers, many of whom criticised the army’s use of excessive force.
Most controversial of all is the claim that the IDF routinely used the banned practice of using Palestinians as human shields when searching homes in Gaza.

But the report has been largely dismissed by the army and the Israeli public.