Pressure mounts on UK for transparency over spy plane flights
Pressure mounts on UK for transparency over spy plane flights, growing speculation on British-Israeli covert ties.
Speculation grows, on British-Israeli covert ties, as the UK faces mounting pressure to reveal if it has any information accumulated through spy plane flights over Gaza, during the time Israel caused the deaths of six journalists, The National reported on August 12th.
A team of Al Jazeera journalists – including the prominent Anas Al-Sharif – were killed in an Israeli strike in Gaza on August 10th.Â
RAF aircrafts based in the Akrotiri air base in Cyprus have purportedly carried out hundreds of surveillance operations over Gaza since the start of Israel’s war on the territory.Â
The speculation seemingly undermines the pressure that the British Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, has applied to Israeli Prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu. In a recent dramatic development between the two nations, Starmer expressed his intentions to recognise a Palestinian state, along with France and Canada, at an upcoming United Nations assembly. The announcement was met with criticism from Netanyahu.
However, the Israeli leader has faced international scrutiny, with the International Criminal Court (ICC) ordering an arrest warrant against Netanyahu.Â
If speculation proves to be accurate international scrutiny will likely embroil the UK Government. While the Israeli government presses ahead to conduct an extensive operation in Gaza, the UK government is being called to respond robustly. What’s more, the British National Union of Journalists asked the UK government to support an investigation led by the International Criminal Court (ICC), which would examine Israel’s killing of media workers.Â
The Union raised questions to the UK Government concerning the spy plane. The union asked the government if it has any information accumulated by a spy plane over Gaza on August 10th to August 11th. The government was also asked if it will disclose this potential information on a public level and if it is prepared to provide any information for an investigation, which would be led by the ICC or another entity.Â
According to The National, The Guardian reported that the Israeli strike, which killed the Al Jazeera journalists, took place at 11:22pm. Reportedly, flight radar information indicated that a spy plane registered with the code N6147U had been operating at RAF Akrotiri base, a couple of hours before. No flight path is available, which indicates that the transponder of the plane had been switched off. This mirrors the typical conduct during surveillance operations over Palestine.Â
There is precedent for the UK to fly spy planes over Gaza. According to The National, The Times reported in April that the British government said that it had information accumulated from a spy plane over Gaza on the same day that UK aid personnel were killed by an Israeli strike.
The National, Maghrebi.org
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