Report unveils UK's premediated role in Gaza genocide: Declassified UK

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Declassified UK
26 Apr 2024 18:19
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In a "Roadmap" which was signed in March 2023, the UK and "Israel" agreed to solidify their strategic partnership with a commitment to address "shared threats."

Israeli soldiers move on the top of a tank near the separation line, as seen from southern Palestine, Thursday, April 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

A report by DeClassified UK on Friday detailed that the Gaza genocide which has so far claimed the lives of more than 40,000 people had been premeditated with the UK.

In a "Roadmap" that was signed in March 2023, the UK and "Israel" agreed to solidify their strategic partnership with a commitment to address "shared threats," including from resistance groups they perceive as terrorists, such as Hamas and Hezbollah. Within this framework, the partnership involved extensive defense and security cooperation, including joint training exercises and decisive actions against resistance groups.

As part of this partnership, the UK provided significant military support to "Israel" during its invasion of Gaza, with the Royal Air Force conducting surveillance missions and hosting training for Israeli military personnel. The UK further facilitated US military operations by allowing weapons supply through its base in Cyprus.

The Roadmap also portrays Iran as a threat and states that "we will seek to counter Iran's destabilizing regional activity."

"We will work to ensure Iran never has nuclear weapon capabilities", adds the accord.

A Blueprint for Controversial Partnership

The 2023 Roadmap extends beyond a prior memorandum of understanding between the UK and "Israel", which was signed in 2021. It explicitly labels the two nations as "natural allies," thus disregarding "Israel's" pariah status due to its illegal occupation of the West Bank and its discriminatory practices against Palestinians.

The Roadmap also includes a section titled "Antisemitism, delegitimization, and anti-Israel bias," which anticipates the UK's exceptional defenses of "Israel's" actions in Gaza within international forums.

It advocates for addressing what it perceives as an undue focus on "Israel" in international bodies, opposing attempts to delegitimize "Israel" or deny its alleged right to self-defense. British ministers have adhered to this stance by consistently justifying "Israel's" actions as "self-defense" and refusing to condemn its breaches of international law.

The Roadmap further promotes enhancing cooperation and alignment between the UK and "Israel" in global forums. In line with this objective, the UK has repeatedly shielded "Israel" from international criticism over its war crimes in Gaza at the UN, often voting against or abstaining on resolutions calling for a ceasefire.

Shielding "Israel"

Regarding criticism directed towards "Israel," the Roadmap promises British protection for "Israel" in international legal bodies like the International Court of Justice (ICJ).

Regarding an earlier case concerning the West Bank, the roadmap states: "The UK and Israel believe that the latest ICJ referral on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict represents an inappropriate recourse to the Advisory Opinion mechanism as this undermines the efforts to achieve a settlement through direct negotiations between the parties."

This approach parallels British responses to South Africa's genocide case against "Israel" at the ICJ, with Deputy Foreign Secretary Andrew Mitchell dismissing the case as "wrong and provocative," and rejecting the genocide charge against "Israel".

Secret agreement

The report also discusses a secret military agreement signed between the UK and "Israel" in December 2020, discovered by Declassified UK through a tweet from the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF).

The UK government did not publicize the agreement and reportedly refused to make it public, citing national security reasons. Defense Minister James Heappey provided only a brief summary of its contents in response to parliamentary inquiries.

Despite its secrecy, the agreement is believed to commit the UK to military cooperation with "Israel." There is speculation about whether the UK is fulfilling these commitments in light of its actions during the Gaza geocide.