The notorious pro-Israel legal advocacy group UK Lawyers for Israel (UKLFI), infamous for carrying out vexatious legal claims, sought help from Tel Aviv to fight threatened legal action by NGOs working in the illegally occupied Palestinian territories, the Middle East Eye (MEE) has uncovered.

According to a leaked Israeli government document seen by MEE, UKLFI’s CEO Jonathan Turner and his wife Caroline Turner, who serves as the organisation’s secretary and treasurer, met with Marlene Mazel, a senior official in Israel’s Ministry of Justice, on 2 September 2019. The purpose of the meeting was to request assistance in finding or validating evidence to help UKLFI in potential legal actions brought against them by two NGOs: UK-based aid charity Interpal and the West Bank-based Defence for Children International-Palestine (DCIP).

The document reveals that the Turners outlined the financial threat to UKLFI should it lose such a case, noting that their insurance would cover £1 million, ($1.3 million) but they would have to pay the rest from their personal accounts. While Mazel did not promise specific assistance, she suggested the possibility of validating information through means such as publishing it on a government website.

The revelation comes in the wake of UKLFI’s recent challenge to the UK government over its partial suspension of arms sales to Israel. The group has threatened legal action unless the government reverses its decision to suspend 30 out of 350 arms licences to Israel. UKLFI has also filed a conduct complaint against the International Criminal Court’s prosecutor, Karim Khan, who is currently seeking arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Yoav Gallant for their conduct of the war on Gaza.

Earlier this month a prominent patron of UKLFI stepped down from his position as a result of a disagreement over the government’s decision to suspend some arms exports to Israel.

The details uncovered by MEE suggest that the legal outfit is operating closely with Israel, despite UKLFI’s claims of independence. When questioned about the 2019 meeting, Jonathan Turner told MEE that they “cannot now recall” whether they met Attorney Marlene Mazel on the date in question.

UKLFI’s actions have had major consequences for the NGOs it has targeted. Interpal, which provided humanitarian aid to Palestinians in need, lost its banking facilities and ceased fundraising in 2021 following UKLFI’s campaign against it. The group has also been involved in efforts to discredit DCIP, which was later designated as a “terrorist organisation” by the Israeli defence ministry in 2021, a move widely condemned by international human rights organisations.

Needless to say, DCIP challenged the allegations in court for defamation. The case was settled outside the court. UKLFI was forced to make an apology and issue a public retraction acknowledging that the children’s rights group did not have links to terrorism.

The revelations raise serious questions about UKLFI’s relationship with the Israeli government and its role in undermining organisations working to support Palestinians in the occupied territories, as well as the vexatious legal cases it files against critics of the apartheid state.

Last month, UKLFI was humiliated by a legal defeat after it sought to have the distinguished British-Palestinian surgeon Dr Ghassan Abu-Sittah suspended and banned from practising medicine. The group’s complaint was rejected by the General Medical Council.

The so-called “lawfare” organisation is known widely for filing vexatious complaints and litigation to silence critics of Israel and its apartheid policies.