Anti-war protest at UK base in Cyprus over complicity in Gaza, Lebanon
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Hundreds of demonstrators holding the Palestinian and Cyprian flags peacefully protest outside the facility's closed gates.
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Image taken from the anti-war protest in front of the British military base in Cyprus, September 29, 2024 (Social Media)
Pro-Palestine and anti-war demonstrators took to the United Kingdom's Royal Air Force Akrotiri Airbase in Cyprus to denounce the UK's implicit backing of the Israeli violations and aggression in Gaza and Lebanon.
Under the banner "Let the forces of death leave", hundreds of demonstrators holding the Palestinian and Cyprian flags peacefully protested outside the facility's closed gates. It is worth noting that this is the UK's largest offshore military facility in the Middle East.
Peter Youssef, a member of the Cyprus Peace Council and one of the protest organizers, said, "It is a matter of sovereignty and independence for Cyrpus, and at this time, it has become clearer that British military bases do not operate for the benefit of the people of Cyprus."
This comes as the Israeli occupation intensifies its attacks on Lebanon and continues its genocide in Gaza.
Today's Anti-War Protest outside British Bases, in Akrotiri, Cyprus.
— DiEM25 in Cyprus (@DiEM25_CY) September 29, 2024
STOP Genocide and Murderous Attacks in Middle East! pic.twitter.com/hfAa6O61NO
British spy squad: Covert force complicit in Israeli strikes on Gaza
In June, a high-ranking Israeli official disclosed that a British spy team had been stationed in "Israel" since the start of its aggression on Gaza in October, Declassified UK reported, citing a leak to The New York Times.
This information was reported in a New York Times article, which covered an Israeli operation to retrieve four captives during a raid that also resulted in the killings of hundreds of Palestinians.
The New York Times article emphasized that “intelligence collection and analysis teams from the United States and Britain have been in Israel throughout the war."
It went on to say that the British personnel were “assisting Israeli intelligence in collecting and analyzing information related to the hostages, some of them citizens of both countries." The Israeli official said that “the outside intelligence” provided by the UK had provided them with “added value”.
Declassified previously uncovered that the RAF has conducted over 200 surveillance missions over Gaza from Cyprus since December, with at least one aircraft landing in "Israel".
