DCI-P withdraws libel claim against UKLFI – UK LAWYERS FOR ISRAEL
Defence for Children International Palestine (DCI-P) has abandoned a claim for libel against UK Lawyers for Israel (UKLFI). The articles we wrote about DCI-P remain on our website.
The articles to which DCI-P objected were about financial organisations and funding platforms that withdrew services from DCI-P.
DCI-P has issued a statement about UK Lawyers for Israel on its website and Twitter, incorrectly alleging that UK Lawyers for Israel has recanted on its previous statements about the links between DCI-P and a terrorist organisation.
UKLFI has not “recanted” or withdrawn any of its previous statements regarding DCI-P’s links to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP). The PFLP is an active terrorist organisation, designated as such by the UK[1] and other countries and regions including the USA[2], Canada,[3] and the EU[4]. The stated goal of the PFLP is the destruction of the State of Israel.[5]
The statement published by UKLFI HERE simply clarifies that UKLFI did not write about any of DCI-P’s current board members in its published articles and therefore did not suggest links between present board members and a terrorist organisation. Our allegations concerned previous board members up to May 2018, as well as other employees.
UKLFI had written to financial organisations and funding platforms including Citibank, Arab Bank and Global Giving, highlighting the evidence of links between former DCI-P staff and officials and the terrorist organisation, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine.
In an article dated 26 June 2018, UKLFI wrote about how it had succeeded in preventing DCI-P from receiving foreign currency donations by bank transfers from Citibank and Arab Bank PLC.
An article dated 13 January 2019 described how Global Giving, another funding source for DCI-P appears to have stopped, as a result of a letter from UKLFI.
An article published by UKLFI on 6 June 2019 was about the confirmation by GlobalGiving UK that Defence for Children International-Palestine (DCI-P) was not eligible to receive donations through its organisation, following representations by UKLFI which pointed out the links between DCI-P and the PFLP.
There have been some public allegations that DCI-P has won a legal victory in the High Court against UKLFI in its libel claim. This is not correct. DCI-P issued a legal claim against UKLFI last June 2019, but we have not seen it, since DCI-P did not serve it and has agreed to let it lapse. UKLFI has not made any payment of costs or damages, nor made any apology, nor given any undertakings, nor withdrawn publication of its articles.
NGO Monitor’s recent report at http://ngo-monitor.org/pdf/DCIP_0120.pdf contains further information about DCI-P.
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