BRITAIN’S military involvement with Israel’s 14-month long assault on Gaza “goes far beyond” what is commonly assumed, according to a new report.
Researcher Khem Rogaly heralded the findings of a new report by the British Palestine Committee (BCP) which says Britain’s involvement in the war is “much deeper than has been acknowledged in most press coverage”.
Speaking at a press conference in London on Thursday, Rogaly said that Britain’s role in licencing arm sales to Israel was the primary area of focus for the media examining the UK’s involvement in the war.
But he said that the Royal Air Force has played an integral role in facilitating Israel’s bombardment of Gaza, which has killed 44,875 Palestinians as of the end of last week, according to the Gaza health ministry.
Referencing Keir Starmer’s address to troops at RAF Akrotiri, a British military base in Cyprus, on Tuesday, Rogaly said: “Over the extraordinarily busy year that Starmer spoke of, one of Akrotiri’s primary functions has been to serve as a logistical supply point for US military cargo, weapons, going to Israel.
"Another primary function of the base has been to launch British surveillance flights over Gaza, which have been happening almost every day for the last 14 months.”
The report, which will be published after it completes final legal checks, outlines how “Britain’s military collaboration with Israel goes far beyond licencing arms exports, which is the common story that you hear in the press”, Rogaly said.
He added: “This means that Britain is not just failing to meet its third-party responsibilities to uphold international law, but that it is actively complicit in Israel’s genocide under the Genocide Convention.”
Britain suspended some arms exports to Israel at the beginning of September – but with a significant caveat allowing the sale of F-35 fighter jet components.
This has been crucial for Israel to continue its bombardment of Gaza in retaliation for the October 7 attacks by Hamas, which saw 1195 people killed and more than 200 hostages taken.
Rogaly said: “Britain’s export of components for the F-35 is essential for Israel to be able to use the jets, we absolutely should not underplay this.”
He said that British products make up more than 15% of every F-35 jet, adding: “This means that British parts are essential to the regular repairs made by Israel which it has to do continuously to keep using its jets.”
But Rogaly said that RAF Akrotiri has played a critical role in getting weapons to Israel, even if Britain is selling fewer than before the partial embargo was imposed.
He said: “Flight tracking data, presented in the report, shows that British and US military heavy transport aircraft, including the Atlas C1 and the C130 Hercules, have made constant journeys from Akrotiri to Israel throughout the past 14 months.
“Haaretz [an Israeli newspaper] reported on the movement of 60 US and British military transport planes to Akrotiri to facilitate a weapons airlift to Israel in the weeks after October 7.
“But it has escaped significant attention in the British press, which normally focuses on the issue of arms export licences.
“Flight tracking data also shows that the British R1 aircraft is used to make continuous surveillance flights over Gaza from Akrotiri for six days every week – they tend to take Saturdays off.”
Surveillance flights are used to gather intelligence on the hostages still held by Hamas, the Ministry of Defence has said.
Rogaly argued that the UK Government should face questions over whether this intelligence was used by the Israelis in a mission in June where 274 Palestinians were killed as four Israeli hostages were rescued.
The Ministry of Defence was approached for comment.
