We need to talk about Starmer, War Crimes, Cyprus & the RAF
We really need to talk about the RAF. For some time now the Royal Air Force has been flying from Cyprus to Israel and Gaza. Some of these flights are air drops of humanitarian aid, and of course these are to be welcomed. But most certainly aren't. Early in the conflict there were allegedly deliveries of military equipment to Ben Gurien airport in Tel Aviv. And we continue to issue arms licences to Israel despite the sanctions.
As well as this the UK has provided hundreds of reconnaissance sorties providing intelligence for the IDF - and lots of it. When you consider that conservative estimates state that Israel have killed over 50,000 people, including thousands of children since October 7th, this is well, really fucking concerning. More to the point. Given that Israel are violating the ceasefire and continuing the killing, why are the RAF still carrying out these sorties?
MPs on the political left in the Greens, SNP and independents have been raising questions on this in Parliament for over a year. So far they have either been fobbed off or met a wall of silence and none of their concerns have been reported in the media which has effectively blacked out and reporting of this. Where the information has got out, for example in Cyprus there has been civil unrest as the Cypriots are uncomfortable about their island being complicit in war crimes.
This wasn't going to be my blog for today but over the past week Israel again is violating ceasefires and children are continuing to die as they continued to bomb schools refugee tents with children in them. Last week in one airstrike alone 413 mainly civilians lost their lives. https://edition.cnn.com/world/live-news/gaza-israel-hamas-strikes-03-18-25
HAMAS were in charge in Gaza, not the West Bank, but the violence against Palestinians in the West Bank seems to continue with impunity. Yesterday Hamdan Ballal, Oscar winning movie maker and co-director of the film 'No other land' - a film about Israeli aggression was attacked by settlers in the West Bank and bundled away by soldiers who arrested him while he was receiveing medical attention. Our acquiesence in a conflict where we are supporting a regime that is clearly out of control needs to stop. #WestBank
Since October 7, 2023, the Royal Air Force has conducted over 450 intelligence sorties over Gaza from RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus with RC-135 and Shadow R1 surveillence flights. (Middle East Eye) The UK government claims these missions are designed to locate hostages held by Hamas (UK Defence Journal), yet this justification barely conceals the reality: it is hard to argue that Britain is not actively complicit in war crimes, enabling the Israeli military machine in its genocidal campaign against the Palestinian people.
There is a legal point here that transcends any questions of ideology, morality or politics. Whatever your personal views are on Israel, the Palestinians or Gaza or HAMAS is, the default position must be that the ICC has issued arrest warrants to both HAMAS leaders (now deceased) and for the PM of Israel and Senior IDF Officers for war crimes. These war crimes relate to specific crimes above and beyond legitimate self-defence that are still ongoing. HAMAS was indicted for the action of October 7th and the taking of hostages. In the case of Israel it is the indiscriminate killing of civilians including women and children; the holding of the entire nation responsible for the actions of HAMAS; land grabs and withholding international aid, which it continues to do. As such the UK has a legal obligation in international law NOT to knowingly assist in war crimes. Any complicity makes the UK and indvidiuals within the UK indictable for war crimes also. In fact since September 31 military licences have been issued to Israel by both the former Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, David Cameron and the current one, David Lammy despite there been sanctions. There are international legal investigations currently taking place into our Government's actions and there is evidence that the UK Government is still supplying parts for F35 jets, aircraft that are used in airstrikes.
The concern about the RAF being involved in the conflict in Gaza is not from a moral standpoint, although that is important, but rather from a criminal one. The RAF’s intelligence-gathering directly benefits Israeli forces, who have been accused of committing war crimes in Gaza. Despite clear evidence of mass civilian casualties and widespread destruction, the UK continues to provide crucial surveillance data. The International Criminal Court (ICC) has already begun investigating Israeli officials, but Britain’s continued intelligence-sharing with Mossad and Shin Bet, both implicated in systemic human rights violations, makes the UK a willing accessory to these crimes (Middle East Eye).
It appears that the Prime Minister and our previous Prime Minister are up to their nuts in this. Starmers visit to RAF Akrotiri on 10th December, was a calculated endorsement of Britain’s military collaboration with Israel. Instead of distancing any claims of UK’s involvement in Israel’s brutal assault on Gaza, he praised RAF personnel, cementing his alignment with the Israelis who are implicated in war crimes. His stance reflects a broader policy of appeasement, where British political elites prioritise allegiance to Israel over human rights and international law. Also, his uncomfortable vomit unducing cwtching up with Donald Trump cannot be ignored - Donald wants his Disneyand on the Med built over the flattened remains of the city blocks, hospitals and unrecovered bodies of Gaza, some of whom may be hostages. Are we going to be complicit in that as well? And lets not forget when Starmer, a fucking human rights lawyer, condoned collective punishment when he said it was perfectly OK for Israel to cut off food, water and energy to Gaza. I despair at his dead eyed shutting down of any criticism of Israel with the now clearly redundant and cowardly blanket coverall 'Israel has the right to defend itself' in that bloody awful nasal trainspotting monotone drawl of his. I suppose given who his donors are it's hardly surprising. The Register of Members Interests is a good reference source when your trying to see who MP's owners are and who's got their paws out. Say what you like about Corbyn but he wasn't owned by a foreign Government engaged in etnic cleansing, land theft and genocide.
It's at this juncture that someone will always scream that critics of Israeli policy are guilty of anti-Semitism. Well let's nip that one in the bud. What is happening in Gaza and the West Bank is a political action carried out by a Sovereign nation in response to an act of terrorism. There are many Jews around the world who do not support what Israel are doing, even ones that support Israel. These Jews aren't carpet bombing refugee camps, nor are they complicit in war crimes carried out by Israel, and as such are neither complicit or culpable in the actions of Israel. So therefore raising concerns about war crimes committed by Israelis is not about Jews. It is about Israelis who instruct them and carry them out - and about the foreign nationals, who have done fuck knows what in the IDF since October 7th. This is why there is clear blue water between the diaspora, Israeli Jews who do not support what is happening in Gaza and the West Bank - and the out of control cunts who are committing these war crimes. As always accusations of anti-Semitism in this context are a dead cat to silence critics of Israel. This is all the more reason that the RAF should not be in any way shape of form have any involvement in this conflict.
RAF Akrotiri’s role in Gaza’s destruction has not gone unnoticed in Cyprus. Protests have erupted against Britain’s use of the island as a launchpad for military operations assisting Israel’s war crimes. Demonstrations outside the base have drawn hundreds, with activists demanding an end to their country’s forced participation in Britain’s imperialist agenda (Cyprus Mail). The anger in Cyprus reflects a broader global resistance against the UK’s complicity in Israel’s atrocities.
Despite the official government narrative, there is growing unease within the RAF itself. While whistleblowing is effectively stifled, there are reports of quiet concerns among personnel about the moral and legal implications of working with indicted war criminals. These missions force RAF officers into a position where they must reconcile their duty with the reality that they are abetting a military campaign responsible for mass civilian deaths. In International law 'just obeying orders' does not cut it anymore, and the RAF are more than well aware of this. No Government has the right to put our armed forces in this position. This week, a select committee quizzed David Lammy about the spy flights and during this he acknowledged that Israel was breaking International law. He clearly got his arse kicked for saying the quiet thing out loud as this was retracted later in the day.
Of course unsurprisingly the UK mainstream media continues to remain deathly silent. This media blackout is not an accident; it is a deliberate effort to shield the government from scrutiny, preventing the public from engaging in an informed debate about Britain’s role in Israel’s atrocitiesthat goes way beyond October 7th. This suppression of information enables continued complicity in war crimes while ensuring the British public remains unaware of the depth of their government’s involvement. https://www.declassifieduk.org/gama-aviation-the-company-helping-britain-spy-for-israel/
The UK’s actions, providing intelligence to a state under ICC investigation, suppressing internal dissent, ignoring public protests, and ensuring media silence constitutes more than just moral failure; they are a clear violation of international law. Legal experts argue that Britain’s ongoing support makes it an accessory to war crimes, and growing international calls demand accountability for the UK government’s actions in aiding Israel’s massacre and ethnic cleansing in Gaza.
Not all heroes wear capes - displayed on the underground
The RAF’s extensive surveillance operations are not just about intelligence, they are about complicity. They not only facilitate but attempt to legitimise Israeli attacks, empower war criminals, and betray the very principles of human rights and justice that Britain claims to uphold. We cannot hold any shred of moral high ground when supporting Ukraine against the Russians if we are at the same time more than happy to support a country that, like Russia, is also indicted in war crimes.
The UK government, and individually anyone who has ordered these sorties, arms shipments and intelligence gathering needs investigating and should there be sufficient evidence MPs up to and including teh PM should be individually indicted by the ICC and must be held accountable for their complicity in these atrocities.
The silence must be broken before history records Britain as an accomplice to one of the 21st century’s most egregious crimes against humanity.
The world has gone mad. If you enjoyed reading this, please feel free to look at the rest of the blogs on www.TetleysTLDR.com. They're free to view, there's no paywall, they aren't monetised and I won't ask you to buy me a coffee. Also please free to share anything you find of interest, we only get the message out if people are aware of it.
Just a leftie, standing in front of another leftie, asking to be read. All the best, Tetley
