US, UK using Cyprus base near Gaza without Cypriot gov. knowledge
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According to the UK military, there is no "formal requirement" to alert the Cypriot government of its operations on the island.
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Typhoon jets using an emergency road to land in Tervo, Finland (RAF)
The UK military has informed parliament that there is no "formal requirement" to notify the Cypriot government of its extensive military and intelligence activities on the island.
According to the testimony, Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides had not been informed of the island's critical role in aiding "Israel's" aggression on Gaza.
A British MP told Declassified that this could "endanger" Cypriots.
Britain maintains two "Sovereign Base Areas" on Cyprus, Dhekelia in the east and Akrotiri in the west, which are enormous, highly covert military and intelligence complexes covering 3% of the island's geographical area and historically used for UK bombing missions in the Middle East.
The UK is an active perpetrator of the war on Gaza, with its complicity taking numerous forms.
James Heappey, the UK’s Defense Minister, told parliament this week, “As a trusted partner, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) routinely engages with the Republic of Cyprus (RoC) on issues relating to the Sovereign Base Areas," adding that "Cypriots surely have a right to know what operations are being flown from their island," including "informing the RoC of flights into and from RAF Akrotiri, although there is no formal requirement to do so.”
Kenny MacAskill, Alba MP for East Lothian, told Declassified that the lack of information is "not only insulting to Cypriots and Cyprus, but potentially endangers them.”
Despite the thousands of deaths of Palestinians, and Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides asserting that the country "cannot be used as a base for war operations," the UK has yet to inform Cypriots of the deployment of Akrotiri in support of "Israel's" bombardment of Gaza.
Declassified recently showed that the RAF has conducted over 30 military transport flights from RAF Akrotiri to "Tel Aviv" since the bombardment of Gaza started. However, Konstantinos Letymbiotis, a spokesperson for the Cypriot administration, told the Cyprus Mail that he had received no information regarding the planes.
The US was using Akrotiri to smuggle weaponry to "Israel" while Britain claims it employed Akrotiri for surveillance flights over Gaza under the pretext of saving captives, drawing condemnation from Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad in separate statements, which they described as military involvement in the "genocidal war".
Americans free to do what they like
MacAskill called it "perverse" that the UK Department of Defense reported the RAF flew 32 flights since October 7 and refused to comment on US flights from Akrotiri to "Israel".
He told Declassified that “as well as ignoring the sovereignty of Cyprus, the UK has abandoned sovereignty of its own military base. It seems the Americans can do what they like and we’re neither to be told nor able to do anything about it.”
A previous document by Edward Snowden detailed that American intelligence personnel are compelled to appear as tourists around the bases since the UK has guaranteed the Cyprus government that only British personnel will work there.
According to leaked top secret documents, US agents have unrestricted access to Britain's facilities in Cyprus and communicate intelligence "daily" with their Israeli colleagues.
The British have long utilized their Cyprus outposts for military and intelligence objectives behind the Cypriot government's back. The UK quietly converted non-aligned Cyprus into a crucial NATO asset during the Cold War, according to Declassified.
