Pro-Palestine activists on electric scooters damage RAF planes and evade capture at UK airbase
Pro-Palestine activists have damaged two Royal Air Force (RAF) planes after breaking into the largest airbase in Britain early on Friday morning on electric scooters.
Footage shared by Palestine Action (PA) shows two protesters riding scooters towards the RAF planes on the runway at the Brize Norton airbase, where they used "repurposed fire extinguishers to spray red paint into the turbine engines" and "caused further damage using crowbars".
The activists then evaded security and escaped the base.
The group announced on its website on Friday that the aibase was targeted because flights leave daily from there "for RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus, a base used for military operations in Gaza and across the Middle East".
"Red paint, symbolising Palestinian bloodshed, was also sprayed across the runway and a Palestine flag was left on the scene," Palestine Action said.
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Brize Norton serves as the UK's hub for strategic air transport and refuelling.
The planes the activists damaged were Airbus Voyagers, which carry military cargo and refuel fighter jets and military aircraft.
'Intervened to break chains of oppression'
A Palestine Action spokesperson said: "Despite publicly condemning the Israeli government, Britain continues to send military cargo, fly spy planes over Gaza and refuel US/Israeli fighter jets.
"Britain isn’t just complicit, it’s an active participant in the Gaza genocide and war crimes across the Middle East."
The spokesperson added: "By decommissioning two military planes, Palestine Action have directly intervened to break the chains of oppression."
A spokesperson for the Ministry of Defence (MoD) said: "Our armed forces represent the very best of Britain. They put their lives on the line for us, and their display of duty, dedication and selfless personal sacrifice are an inspiration to us all.
"It is our responsibility to support those who defend us."
The British base on Cyprus, RAF Akrotiri, is just a 40-minute flight from Tel Aviv.
From there, RAF Shadow aircraft have conducted hundreds of surveillance flights over Gaza throughout Israel's war on the Palestinian enclave.
In response to questions about these flights, the MoD has repeatedly insisted they are in support of "hostage rescue".
Earlier this year, Luke Pollard, minister for the armed forces, said during a debate that Britain "shares an important, long-standing and broad strategic partnership with the state of Israel".
He said that surveillance flights over Gaza are "solely in support of hostage rescue" and that information is passed on "only if we are satisfied that it will be used in accordance with international humanitarian law".
The MoD also said last year that it "would consider any formal request from the International Criminal Court to provide information relating to investigations into war crimes".
However, there is significant secrecy surrounding much of what the RAF Akrotiri airbase is used for.
Last month, MEE reported that the UK government blocked Labour MP Kim Johnson from asking about Israeli bombers using the Cyprus airbase.
Palestine Action have carried out a series of high-profile actions during Israel's war on Gaza.
PA activists were arrested on terror charges after an action in August when activists drove a modified van into the research and development hub of UK-based Israeli arms company, Elbit Systems, in Filton, Bristol. They are currently being held in remand.
PA has targeted Elbit Systems sites across the country - including factories in Leicester, Oldham and Shenstone.
In April, Manchester-based Dean Group, a metals manufacturing company, announced it would no longer be working with Elbit Systems after it was targeted by PA activists.
This latest action - targeting RAF planes in a British airbase - is unprecedented.
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