Tony Blair’s government rebuffed high-level Israeli pressure to crack down on the Palestinian Relief and Development Fund (Interpal), a UK-based charity known globally for providing humanitarian aid to Palestinians in the occupied territories and neighboring countries, newly declassified British documents reveal.

In 2001, the UK government proscribed the military wing of the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas). However, files from the Prime Minister’s Office, released by the British National Archives, show that British and Israeli officials were also cooperating on discussions about proscribing the political wing of Hamas.

Although the political wing of Hamas had not been banned at the time, Israel urged the UK to take action against Interpal, alleging that the charity was diverting funds to Hamas.

Interpal was founded in 1994 as a non-political charity focused on delivering relief and development aid to impoverished Palestinians, primarily in the in Gaza Strip, the West Bank, Lebanon, and Jordan.

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In May 1997, Israel banned the charity, even though it was registered and regulated by the UK Charity Commission (CC). The US government also accused Interpal of supporting terrorism and, in August 2003,........

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