Unlock the Editor’s Digest at no cost
Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favorite tales on this weekly e-newsletter.
Professional-Palestinian activists broke into the UK’s largest Royal Air Drive base on Friday, claiming to have broken navy plane in a protest towards British assist for Israel’s struggle in Gaza.
The marketing campaign group Palestine Motion mentioned its members broke into RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire, sprayed crimson paint into the engines of two Airbus Voyager planes, and “triggered additional harm” with crowbars.
A video posted by the group on X exhibits two protesters crossing the runway on electrical scooters earlier than spraying paint into the engines with repurposed fireplace extinguishers.
“Not solely did actionists achieve entry to the navy base, in addition they escaped undetected,” it mentioned.
The incident at Brize Norton is the most recent motion by teams campaigning towards British navy assist for Israel’s offensive in Gaza, and a uncommon occasion of a profitable breach of a UK navy web site.
It raised “severe questions for the [Ministry of Defence] to reply about how ‘protesters’ — who may even have turned out to be armed terrorists — had been in a position to achieve entry to what’s alleged to be a safe RAF air base”, mentioned Mark Francois, the Conservative social gathering’s shadow armed forces minister.
The Voyager fleet focused by the campaigners is a sequence of air-to-air refuelling tankers able to carrying as much as 109 tonnes of gas, routinely utilized by the RAF to assist Nato operations.
UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer mentioned in a submit on the social media platform X that the “act of vandalism dedicated at RAF Brize Norton is disgraceful”.
“Our Armed Forces symbolize the easiest of Britain and put their lives on the road for us daily. It’s our duty to assist those that defend us.”
The Ministry of Defence mentioned it was working intently with the police to research the incident.
Thames Valley Police mentioned: “We now have acquired a report of individuals having access to RAF Brize Norton and inflicting legal harm. An investigation has been launched and we’re working with the Ministry of Defence Police and companions at RAF Brize Norton. Enquiries are ongoing to find and arrest these accountable.”
The British authorities final week mentioned it will deploy a brand new tranche of RAF fighter jets and different UK navy plane to bases within the Center East, hinting that the nation may present defensive assist to Israel in its escalating confrontation with Iran.
“Regardless of publicly condemning the Israeli authorities, Britain continues to ship navy cargo, fly spy planes over Gaza and refuel US/Israeli fighter jets”, Palestine Motion mentioned in an announcement. “Britain isn’t simply complicit, it’s an energetic participant.”
Though British suppliers account for a small share of Israeli arms imports, the federal government has confronted mounting stress from the general public to take a more durable line towards the Netanyahu authorities. The UK introduced final yr that it will droop direct arm gross sales to Israel, although it has confronted continued criticism over Tel Aviv’s entry to UK-manufactured parts for the F-35 fighter jet via a world pool programme.
