UK government’s complicity in Gaza: Surveillance, arms, and silence

Since December 2023, the United Kingdom has conducted at least 518 surveillance flights over Gaza, raising serious concerns about British complicity in Israel’s military operations that have resulted in mass civilian casualties. These flights, carried out by the Royal Air Force’s 14 Squadron using Shadow R1 aircraft from RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus, have been shrouded in secrecy.

While the Ministry of Defence claims these missions are solely for locating Israeli prisoners held by Hamas, the lack of transparency and the timing of these flights suggest otherwise.

Notably, in the two weeks leading up to Israel’s deadly attack on the Nuseirat refugee camp on 8 June 2024, which reportedly killed 274 Palestinians and injured over 700, the RAF conducted 24 surveillance flights. It remains unclear whether British intelligence directly contributed to the attack or was solely used to locate Israeli prisoners.

In addition to surveillance, the UK has continued to supply arms to Israel. Between October 2023 and March 2024, eight arms shipments to Israel passed through British airspace, including a flight carrying 167kg of detonators for Orion Advanced Systems, a major contractor for the Israel Defence Forces. Despite growing calls from international organisations and legal experts to halt arms sales, the UK government has only partially suspended arms exports to Israel, citing concerns about international relations and defence contracts.

Add to this military support, there is significant political support on display for the Israeli war machine. The then-UK Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, criticised the International Criminal Court in May 2024 for seeking arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, calling the action “deeply unhelpful.” He emphasised that there is no “moral equivalence” between Israel and Hamas and argued that this move would make “absolutely no difference” to achieving wider peace in the Middle East.

Famously, the current British Prime Minister, who was previously a human rights lawyer, publicly supported Israel’s “right” to cut off water and power to Gaza, displaying the lengths that British politicians are willing to go to support Israel.

The British government’s lack of transparency regarding the surveillance flights and arms exports raises serious questions about its commitment to international law and human rights. Parliamentary efforts to probe the true purpose of these flights have been repeatedly stonewalled, with the government citing ‘operational security’ to avoid disclosure.

The UK government’s actions have drawn criticism from human rights organisations. Human Rights Watch has stated that the UK’s refusal to suspend arms transfers to Israel puts it “at risk of failing to prevent and being complicit in serious violations of international law, including war crimes and crimes against humanity.”

Take action

As a signatory to the Genocide Convention and the UN Charter, the UK has a legal and moral obligation to prevent and punish acts of genocide. The current trajectory of UK policy not only undermines international law but also erodes the UK’s credibility on the global stage.

We urge you to contact your Member of Parliament to demand:

• An immediate and full suspension of all arms exports to Israel.
• Transparency regarding the UK’s surveillance activities over Gaza.
• Compliance with international law and accountability for any complicity in violations.

Your voice can make a difference. Stand up for justice and human rights.